To Have and To Lose
by rac0nteur
Summary: Zarina Carlisle. If you ask her how she got mixed up in all of this, she'll probably blame it on her two idiot best friends. Or the fact that Beacon Hills is one seriously screwed up place. Either way, she's in this and, boy, is she in it deep.
1. One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf. Though I wish I did.**

* * *

"I'm worried about her," Stiles said as he paced back and forth in front of me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at how disruptive he was being in the bustling hospital. I instead crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair, eyes following him as he moved to and fro.

"We're _all _worried about her, Batman," I said gently. His frantic pacing stuttered slightly at the nickname, causing him to almost bump into a nurse, but quickly caught pace again. "A tiny little bite from Peter isn't going to stop her."

_"_A litt-Have you seen it?!" he stopped in front of me and gave me his signature 'are you fucking serious right now?' look – slightly open mouth, twitchy eyes and all. This time I didn't hold back my eye roll as I raised an eyebrow at the hyperactive boy in front of me.

"Okay, okay. It's not little, but you know Lydia. She's too stubborn to give up," I conceded, too weary to argue with him, despite having had this conversation 1,000 times since the formal.

His shoulders slumped and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it in reassurance. I knew the depth of his care for the strawberry blonde, and I knew that if it were he or Scott in her place, I'd be just as scared as him.

"I just…" he trailed off. "I need her to be okay, Z. Even if she's awake, the bite hasn't healed and, I just, I'm worried." He squeezed my hand back and I gave him a half smile, pushing his shoulder down so he'd be kneeling in front of me.

When his face was level with mine, I laid my hands on his shoulders and shook him gently. "And she will be," I said. "But I don't think it'll help her much if you wear a hole in the hospital's floor, so stop pacing, alright?"

Stiles finally let out a small grin at my joke and nodded. I patted his face with both hands and he moved to the chair next to me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Sorry I made you come over here, Zarina," he said after a moment. "I know you hate hospitals after what happened to your parents, but-"

"Don't apologize," I cut him off. "If you need me, I'll be there, okay? No questions asked. Even if it's the hospital where they…y'know."

I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my face and I knew he was feeling even guiltier than before. "I'm-"

Suddenly, a loud, ear-piercing scream tore through the noise of the hospital and the two of us jumped to our feet, our eyes meeting worriedly. Stiles grabbed my hand and we sprinted down the corridor into Lydia's hospital room. Her bed was empty and the bathroom door closed.

"Lydia?" Stiles called out fearfully as he pulled me into the bathroom where water was overflowing in the shower. The window above it wide open and Lydia's hospital gown was hanging on the ledge.

"That is so not good," I whispered.

* * *

"Is that the one she was wearing?" Scott asked as I hopped into Stiles' jeep. Stiles gave him a sure nod and Scott took the bloody hospital gown and held it in his hands for a second before turning to Stiles.

"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her," he assured and Stiles merely nodded again, weaker this time.

"Just shove the thing in your face and let's find her," he said quietly, starting up his Jeep as Scott started to sniff the gown.  
He was about to back the car up when Allison appeared in the back headlights. "What the hell are you doing here?" Scott hissed from the window. I grinned at his concerned tone.

I was fully aware that the two were supposed to be 'broken up' due to Mr. Argent being distrustful about Scott being a werewolf, but Allison and Scott weren't too keen on actually following his orders, so they just pretended.

"She's my best friend. We need to find her before they do," Allison replied, walking up to Scott's window and offering me a small smile before turning back to her boyfriend.

"The cops are on it," he said.

"How about my _father_?"

"Whoa wait," I said. "He knows?"

"I just saw him and three other men leave the house in SUV's," she disclosed, turning to me.

"A search party," Scott realized.

"More like a hunting party," she corrected with a small grimace.

"Get in," I said, pulling open the door for her and she slipped in next to me. Stiles wasted no time in speeding out of the parking lot of the hospital and down the street.

"Will they actually kill her?" I asked the huntress next to me, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

"I don't know. They won't tell me anything," she said, frustrated. "All they say is that we'll talk after Kate's funeral when the others get here."

I turned my head slightly at the mention of Kate's name to hide my scowl. The woman had nearly killed my best friend and then went psycho crazy on Derek's ass before Peter killed her. Needless to say, Kate Argent was not my favorite person ever.

"Wait, what others?" I asked.

"They won't tell me that yet." Allison leaned in through the middle of the partition, careful not to slide onto me as the car swerved on the road.

"Scott, are we going the right way?" Stiles yelled out above the revving engine of his car. Scott had his head out the window, much like a dog.

"Take the next right!" he replied. Stiles jerked the wheel and I had to hold onto the seat so I wouldn't tumble into Allison.

We got out of the car and I nearly stumbled on my shaky legs, but Stiles caught me by the waist. "Thanks," I said, looking up at him with a small smile.

He returned it and shrugged, "No big deal." We stood there for a second, his hands on my waist and my blue-green eyes connected with his brown before we realized how close we were. I jerked out of his grip awkwardly and laughed nervously.

"We should, uh, go," I said, motioning towards Scott and Allison who were already walking through the forest. When we approached the place Scott said Lydia was, my eyes widened.

"She came here?" Stiles asked, turning to us. The old Hale house loomed before us as we trekked carefully through the woods.

"This is where the scent leads," Scott replied, his hand tightly wound in Allison's. I rubbed my arms to try and keep warm through my thin hoodie.

"Has Lydia ever been here?" Stiles stopped in his tracks and looked over at his shoulder at us.

"Not with me," Allison pursed her lips. I merely shook my head when Stiles' eyes averted to me. We all took slow steps forward and simply stared at the house.

"Maybe she was drawn here. To find Derek, I mean," Allison reasoned. "She needs a pack, right?" She looked at Scott, who looked slightly offended.

"Not all of us," he said, referring to himself.

"But you're stronger in one, right? Like all of you."

"We're individually stronger when we're in a pack. Stronger, faster, it's all heightened in a pack," the werewolf explained.

"Even an Alpha?" the brunette asked and he nodded. Stiles walked around us and kicked through some leaves. I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes and I rubbed them instinctively.

"Rina, you okay?" Scott asked, noticing my discomfort.

"Y-Yeah," I said. "Just a headache. This place brings bad memories." He nodded in understanding.

"Hey, look at this," Stiles said. I walked closer to him and saw him bent over some type of wire. Allison joined us and we knelt down, inspecting it closely.

Stiles picked up the wire slightly and hummed. "I wonder where this-"

"Stiles." Scott said from behind us.

"Yeah, buddy?" Stiles replied, eyes still locked on the wire.

"Next time there's a trip wire…don't trip it," he said. We turned to see Scott hanging upside down, his body swinging back and forth.

"Noted," Stiles said sheepishly as Allison and I giggled at the scene. I lightly slapped Stiles upside the head and shook my head at him, though the giggles still erupted from my mouth.

"Wait, wait wait!" Scott said hastily as Allison moved towards him. "Someone's coming. Go hide."

I looked at Stiles before grabbing both his and Allison's wrists, tugging them into the woods. We pushed our backs against a tree and watched as Mr. Argent strode towards Scott.

I silently cursed myself for not having werewolf hearing as I tried to decipher his words to Scott. I could, however, make out two distinct words that made my blood run cold. _Pack_ and _sword_. I gave Stiles a worried glance and he simply looked back at me, eyes warm and reassuring.

Soon, Argent left with his cronies and we quickly exited from our hiding spots, hurrying to Scott.

"You okay?" Allison asked. I bit my lip and watched him.

"Just another life-threatening conversation with your dad," Scott blew a breath from his mouth.

"I'm starting to think that all of your conversations with anybody are life-threatening," I grumbled. Stiles snorted from beside me and Scott sent me a glare.

Stiles went towards a release trigger attached to a tree. "We'll get you out in a second," he said as he tried to figure it out.

We heard a thump and I turned to Scott, who was already standing upwards, flourishing his claws. "Thanks, but I think I got it." I rolled my eyes and walked past Scott and towards the house, ignoring the ever growing burning behind my eyes.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, the burning behind my eyes was still present and it felt like it was getting worse.

"Alex," I called out from my room, my hand over my eyes. When I heard the door open, I uncovered one of my eyes and groaned as the harsh light made the burning worse.

"What's wrong?" my brother asked, sitting at the edge of my bed and feeling my forehead. "You don't feel sick."

"There's just this really bad pain behind my eyes. I don't think I can make it to school without passing out," I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

I heard him sigh before planting a kiss on my forehead. "Alright. Just stay in bed. I'll be back from work soon. Get some rest, Nana." he said. I gave him a small wave with my other hand and he shut the door with a click.

I simply laid in my bed for a few minutes, waiting for the feeling to dull. When it did, I carefully opened my eyes and sighed in relief when it didn't return. I glanced around my room, testing to make sure that moving my eyes wasn't going to affect me too much.

My eyes paused when I saw a charcoal drawing on the paper that was taped to my canvas in the corner of my room. I swung my legs out of the bed and walked carefully towards the canvas. I didn't remember touching my canvas since a few days previous, but that had been a painting, not a charcoal drawing. I stared at the paper in front of me and my heart started to beat harshly when I made out the shape of my drawing.

The dark markings created a macabre creature that I was sure I hadn't ever seen before, yet it looked so familiar to me and the way I drew it so intricately obviously meant something. The creature I had somehow created had a long tail and sharp claws. Its head was very reptilian-like and its teeth were pointy. The feature that scared me the most was its eyes. They were slitted and even from a drawing, I could tell that they held no good intent.

My breathing turned harsh as I looked down at my hands. They were covered in charcoal dust. I hastily tore the page from the canvas and ripped it to pieces in my garbage, my hands shaking and my eyes filling with tears. I was terrified. There was no fighting it now. I'd created that drawing. But how and why? I was at a loss.

I had to tell someone. Anyone. But I knew that telling Scott and Stiles would worry them too much, so that wasn't a good idea. I went over options in my head, but every one of them ended up with them sending me to a psychiatrist due to them thinking I was mentally insane.

* * *

I was broken out of my distressed thoughts when my phone rang. I wiped my hands on my pajama shorts and unplugged my phone from its charger, pressing 'answer' when I saw it was Stiles. Scott was probably with him.

"Hello?" I said. I mentally cursed when my voice cracked, but they didn't seem to notice.

"She ate a liver," Scott's voice rang out. My mouth twisted into a frown as I sat down in my desk chair.

"I didn't say she ate it. I said it was missing," Stiles argued. "And so what if she did? It's the most nutritious part of the body." I made a disgusted face as I listened to their bickering. I leaned farther into my chair and rested my legs on my desk.

"I never ate someone's liver," Scott deadpanned when Stiles brought his case up.

"Yeah, because when it comes to werewolfness you're a model of self-control," Stiles retorted and I heard Scott huff.

"Why aren't you in school today?" Scott changed the subject.

I stiffened as the picture of the reptile-like creature flashed in my mind, but cleared my throat and answered him. "I, uh, had a really bad headache. Probably the same kind as last night. Might be a migraine, y'know?"

"Okay," Scott hesitated, and I knew he didn't believe the whole thing. "Well, is there anything we can do to help?"

I sighed and shrugged, but remembered they couldn't see me. "No, not really. I just need to rest, I think."

I heard a noise from downstairs and got up quickly to investigate, but the pain from earlier returned with full force. I shut my eyes, keeling over as a noise of hurt left my mouth.

"Zarina?" Stile's loud voice came from my phone, which I'd dropped in my fit of agony. "Are you okay?"

Still squeezing my eyes shut, I felt for my phone and held it to my ear shakily, breathing in and out slowly as the ache worsened. I sat on the floor for a moment, my back leaning against the desk.

"I'm fine," my voice was forced. "I'll call you guys later okay?" Stiles and Scott let out words of protest, but I hung up before they could finish.

I threw my phone onto my bed blindly, relieved when it didn't crash onto the floor and opened my eyes gingerly. The throbbing was still very much there, but I kept them open, set on finding out what had happened downstairs.

The room spun as I tried to walk towards the door, but I ignored it as I opened the door quietly, searching for signs of intruders. I held the wall with my right hand, steadying myself as I walked down the hallway. I took deep breaths before gripping the rail of the stairs in a death grip and slowly making my way down them.

I was at the last step when the pain intensified to a new high and the room spun in wild circles, causing me to trip. I waited for the impact of the ground, but instead found myself in leather-clad arms. Even without opening my eyes, I knew who it was. Derek. But I opened them anyways, albeit hesitantly. Said Alpha was staring down at me, smirk in place.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, jumping out of his arms and grabbing the railing again when the room seemed to tilt sideways.

"Whoa, there," Derek said, grabbing my arm to steady me. "Why don't you sit down?"

He led me to my couch and I plopped down on it, eyeing the werewolf carefully. "How the hell did you get into my house?"

"You look like shit," Derek said, avoiding my question.

"It's times like this where I realize why you're single," I replied with sass. Had my eyes not been burning, I would've rolled them. "Why are you here, Derek?" I asked tiredly.

"I felt a strong presence from around here. Figured it was another werewolf," he explained. "Except it was only you."

I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head. "Ha-ha. You should be a comedian. Really, Derek."

He snarled at me and crossed his arms. "Weird thing is, the strong presence is actually coming _from_ you."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Has anything weird happened to you lately?" he asked abruptly.

My mind immediately flashed to my drawing, but I pushed it away. "Aside from the usual, no."

"Don't lie," he said simply. Ah, dammit, I thought.

"I'm not!" I protested. "I just-"

I let out a cry as the burning in my eyes turned into a sharp, excruciating sting. I wanted to shut them, oh god I did, but they refused to respond and instead stayed open. Derek rushed to me, holding me upright by my shoulders.

"Zarina," he said, surprised. "Your eyes."

I pulled out of his grip and made a beeline to the bathroom, the feeling behind my eyes still making me want to gouge my eyes out of my head. When I looked up at myself in the mirror, I jolted backwards, my back hitting the towel rack with a bang.

The eyes that stared back at me weren't the blue-green I was used to. They were completely white with a ring of black that outlined my pupil in the middle. That was the last thing I remember before I fell to the ground, my mind slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

**AN: _So yeah. That was the first chapter of my new story! Probably sucked. Anywaaays. If it wasn't obvious, it's gonna start from Season 2 and go on through Season 3 and so forth. All that good stuff. _**

**_Please favorite and review so I know if I should even keep going. It'd mean a bunch. _**

**_PS- Any resemblance this has to any other story anywhere is completely coincidental. _**

**_xx_**


	2. Two

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Teen Wolf. Though I'm almost positive that Jeff Davis and I are the same person, but whatevss.**

* * *

As soon as I woke up, I shot out of bed and went into the upstairs bathroom. I paused a step before I could see myself in the mirror. I was scared to be faced with the same white eyes that'd stared back at me earlier. They were terrifying and I didn't think I could handle it. But a part of me knew it was me and that in and of itself was unsettling.

I finally found the courage to take that final step and I faced myself in the mirror. When I saw that my eyes were their normal shade of blue, I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. I ran a hand through my tousled brown locks and returned to my room, falling onto the bed tiredly.

"I thought I heard you get up," the voice startled me and I fell out of the bed and onto my bottom. I stood up, rubbing my backside and glared at Derek, who was leaning on the doorway of my closet.

"Could you _be_ any creepier?" I asked. "It's not like you're standing in my closet or anything."

Derek rolled his eyes and gave me a calculating look. "What happened to you earlier? With your eyes."

"I don't know, okay?" I sat back onto my bed and hugged a pillow to my chest. "I wish I did. It's really starting to freak me out."

"When did this start?" he pressed on.

I sighed and shrugged, racking my brain for the first time. "It started when.." I trailed off and I could feel myself slipping into a memory.

* * *

_"Derek!" I called out, rushing into the burnt Hale house. "Scott needs your help!" I weaved my way in and out of the house, looking for the werewolf._

_ I looked everywhere, but apparently Derek wasn't there, so I went to leave. As soon as I touched the doorknob, I heard a growl from behind me. It was low and menacing. _

_My hand slipped from the rusty knob and I merely stood there for a moment, stiff and frozen in my place. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest and I knew that whatever was behind me could hear it. I slowly turned around and was faced with the Alpha. _

_Its red eyes glowed in the darkness of the house and I could just barely make out its snarling teeth and its crouching body. My eyes widened and my breathing turned ragged as it grabbed me by the shoulders and flung me to the ground, pouncing on top of me._

_I screamed, but it did nothing to stop it. I squirmed under its grip, trying to get up, but I knew it was pointless. I could feel myself crying and soon my screams grew louder it plunged its teeth into my shoulder._

_It was only a few seconds, but they were the most excruciating seconds of my life. I could feel the blood pour from the bite wound as it sunk its teeth deeper and deeper. When it finally released me, the Alpha stared at me for one second with what seemed to be a smirk on its face, and then it left me there, bleeding and crying on the dirty floor._

* * *

"Zarina!" Derek's harsh voice broke through as he shook me harshly from behind. I blinked and saw that I was seated at my canvas, charcoal clutched in my hands. I hesitantly looked at the paper in front of me and was disgusted when I saw myself depicted on the floor, the Alpha perched on top of me, already biting my neck.

I threw the charcoal on the ground and flung myself away from the canvas, breathing heavily. Derek caught me by the elbow before I could trip and he stared at my drawing. He pulled me so I would face him and gripped me tighter.

"What is that? Did you get bitten?" he asked firmly. I looked down at the ground, unable to look at him and see his expression, which most likely held betrayal and disgust. "Answer me!" he said louder, shaking me.

"Yeah, I got bit, b-but this is nothing," my voice was quiet, ashamed. "I was just-" I stopped myself. What _was_ I doing? More importantly, how did I do it?

"Exactly," Derek said. "You blanking out in the middle of a conversation and walking over to your canvas with white eyes, then drawing whatever the hell that is, is not nothing. Especially because you got bit and you're definitely no werewolf. So answer my question. What. Is. That?"

I looked up and stared him straight in the eye, tears sliding down my face, but my expression serious as I whispered my answer.

"It's a warning. And I think Peter's involved."

* * *

My locker was slammed shut by a hand and I jumped. "What happened yesterday?" Stiles asked, hand still on my locker. Scott stood beside him, arms crossed in question. I was surprised they were worried about me, especially since Lydia had been found the night before.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I mean," Stiles started, his hand dropping to his side heavily, "why the hurry to hang up on us yesterday? We thought you got hurt."

I rubbed my arm self-consciously, shrugging. Derek and I had sworn to keep my 'condition' a secret until we figured it out, but the way the two were looking at me almost made me tell them. Almost.

"I just dropped a vase," I said, trying to keep my heartbeat calm. "Almost cut my foot with the glass." Scott raised an eyebrow at me and immediately I knew I was caught in my lie.

"A vase?" Scott said skeptically. "Really?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him.

"Yes, Scott. A vase. Now can we please stop talking about this?" I looked at them pleadingly and they seemed to let it go.

"Anyway, you ready for the full moon tonight?" Stiles asked Scott as he led us to his locker. I glanced at Scott, who shrugged.

"It's not like the last one, I swear. I don't feel the same," he said.

"Does that include the urge to maim and kill people?" I asked, teasing.

Scott glared at me, "I swear I don't have the urge to maim and kill you."

"You know, you say that now, but the full moon comes and out come the claws and the fangs and the howling and screaming and it's very stressful on us," Stiles interjected, breathless as he turned the lock on his locker.

"So in other words, we're still locking you up," I leaned on the locker to the right of Stiles' with a small smirk on my face.

Scott groaned, "Okay! Okay. But I'm in more control now, especially since things are good with Allison."

Stiles turned to him and made a face. "I'm aware of how good things are with Allison."

Scott's hands were shoved in his pocket and his expression turned dreamy.

"They're like," he said. "Really good."

"Oh, I know," I added. "She tells me about it all the time." I gagged and rested my head on the lockers.

"Okay! I get it!" Stiles said loudly. "Now please, shut the hell up before I get the urge to maim and kill myself."

I giggled as Stiles turned back to his locker, ripping the lock off.

"Did you get something better than handcuffs this time?" Scott inquired.

"Yup," Stiles' voice was filled with pride. He popped open his locker and out came a long string of metal chains, all of them falling to the floor with loud clanks.

I pushed myself off the locker and turned away from the scene, unable to watch the sad moment play out any longer. People were starting to gather and laugh at the two idiots.

When the clanking stopped, I turned back to my best friends. "That all?" I asked sarcastically, looking at the mound of chains on the linoleum floor.

I saw Scott's eyes flash golden as they moved quickly, inspecting the people in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

Stiles was stuffing his chains back into his locker, but he kept a firm eye on Scott as I tried to calm him.

"There's another. Right here," Scott said between clenched teeth.

"Another werewolf?" Stiles asked and the beta beside me nodded.

I paled and scanned the hallway. No one seemed to stick out to me in particular. "Who is it?" I asked, voice low.

"I don't know," he replied, his breathing returning to normal. My hand slid off his shoulder, but things were still tense between the three of us as we tried to figure out this new mystery.

* * *

At free period, I hurried through the halls, trying to get to the lacrosse pitch in time to watch the practice start. I stopped abruptly at the corner as I heard someone stumble out of the boy's locker room, growling. I turned the corner hesitantly.

"Scott? Are you-" I froze. The person in front of me was definitely not Scott. I knew that as soon as I saw the naturally curly hair and the tall, lanky stature. Isaac Lahey. Except it wasn't totally him. His usually bright blue eyes were golden and his clawed hands were causing dents in a locker as he tried to control his breathing.

He must've heard my heart because his head whipped towards me, fangs bared. I took a shaky step backwards before turning on my heel, running out the door and to the bleachers, where Scott and Stiles were already talking.

"I know who it is!" I said, bending over to catch my breath as I reached the pair. They gave me a weird look and I sighed. "The werewolf, I mean," my voice was a whisper.

Stiles and Scott immediately pounced on me with questions.

"Who is it?"

"How'd you find out?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"Is he-"

"Guys!" I cut them off. "Please shut up and let me tell you, okay?" They nodded eagerly, eyes wide as they stared at me. "It's-"

Coach's whistle blew loud and clear, causing Scott to throw his hands over his ears. "McCall! Stilinski! Stop flirting with Carlisle and get your asses over here!"

I heard the team snicker behind us and I gave them a fierce glare. "I'll tell you guys later," I said before climbing up the bleachers and taking a seat.

When Scott took his place in the goal, I mentally groaned. Scott hated goalie. But then when he started tackling his teammates to the ground and sniffed them, much to coach's displeasure, I knew what he was trying to do.

I couldn't help but snicker as Scott sniffed each of his teammates like a puppy, especially when Danny told him that his aftershave was Armani. Of course, the werewolf heard me and gave me a strict glance, but I simply gave him a small wave and a teasing grin. But then, Isaac pushed himself to the front of the line and crouched down, his eyes glowing from under his helmet. I gulped and hoped that Scott wouldn't do something stupid.

The two werewolves bolted at each other at high speed and jumped into the air, meeting halfway. The impact caused them to fall to the ground, but they soon regained their footing and were crouching right in front of each other, both of them growling menacingly.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sheriff Stilinski and some other cops walk onto the field. I immediately turned my attention to Stiles, who shrugged at me. He had no idea what'd happened. Scott and Isaac straightened up and I saw Isaac whisper something to Scott before he was dragged towards the cops. I jumped off the bleachers and met Stiles and Scott who both had strange looks on their faces.

"Isaac's the werewolf?" Stiles asked, breaking our silence. Scott and I nodded in unison, glancing at the new beta.

"What're they going to do with him?" I asked, surprised at how worried I sounded for the boy.

Stiles gave me a weird look before sighing and readjusting his helmet under his arm. "They have the right to lock him in a holding cell for 24 hours."

"Like overnight?" Stiles nodded. "But tonight's the full moon!" Scott hissed and I felt the blood drain from my face.

"How good is a cell at holding someone?" I bit my lip and looked at Stiles.

"A regular person, good. A werewolf? Not so much," Stiles admitted. "But how bad can it be?"

I looked at him incredulously and rolled my eyes. "He's a new werewolf, Sti. On a full moon. It can be very, very bad. Remember Scott's first moon?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure that Isaac can-" Stiles tried reasoning but Scott broke him off.

"Remember when I said I don't have the urge to maim and kill?" Scott started. Stiles and I shared a look before nodding. "He does."

I turned my head to Isaac and saw that he was being taken away to the parking lot, probably to be sent to the station. He looked over his shoulder at me and gave me a smirk before turning back around, following the Sheriff innocently.

* * *

"Why would Derek choose Isaac?" Scott asked, sounding incredibly distressed.

"Peter told me that if the bite doesn't turn you, it could kill you. Maybe teenagers have a better chance of survival?" Stiles whispered so that Mr. Harris wouldn't hear us. Still, I stiffened at the mention of Peter's name and Scott caught it, sending me a worried look.

"But still, Isaac's a minor," I replied quietly, pretending to write in my notebook. "Are you sure they're allowed to hold him?"

"Not unless they have solid evidence or a witness," Stiles said and I connected it in my head.

"Wait," I said. "Danny," I turned to him. "Where's Jackson?"

"In the principal's office talking to Sheriff Stilinski," Danny replied nonchalantly.

"Really? Why?" Stiles quirked an eyebrow.

"Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac," Danny shrugged.

We exchanged a look. "Witness," I said.

Stiles began tearing a page from his notebook and crumpling it into a ball.

"What are you doing?" I hissed under my breath.

"Getting us into the principal's office," he said simply before chucking the ball at Mr. Harris' head.

"Who the hell did that?" Harris said, turning to the class angrily. Scott pointed at Stiles, who pointed at me, and I pointed at Scott. We all had innocent looks on our faces and I was trying to fight down the smirk that was growing on my face at Harris' reaction.

"The three of you," he said. "Principal's office. Now."

* * *

Scott had his ear pressed against the glass window, trying to hear what Jackson was saying. It personally pissed me off that Jackson probably knew of Isaac's father beating him and did nothing about it.

Soon, the Sheriff came out of the office and Stiles fumbled to hide his face with a nearby magazine. Must be a habit of his, I thought as my mind returned to the night in the hospital when we were trying to connect the scents of the two halves of Laura Hale's body.

"Hi Scott, Zarina," Sheriff greeted, ignoring his son purposefully.

"Hi," Scott and I said, giving him a sheepish wave. Stiles' father soon left, causing him to drop the magazine from his face. Then, the new principal emerged from his office, a slightly cynical smile adorning his face.

"Come on in," he said, waving us into his office.

We sat down in the chairs in front of his desk and I felt my leg bob up and down nervously. Stiles noticed this and placed a hand on my knee, squeezing it reassuringly. We sent each other small smiles before returning our attention to the principal.

"Scott McCall," he started, "academically, not the most accomplished, but I see you've become quite the star athlete." He then turned to another file and began again. "Mr. Stilinski. Perfect grades, but little to no extra curriculars. May I suggest trying out for lacrosse?"

"Actually, I'm on…" Stiles' protest was cut off.

"Ah, Zarina Carlisle. Above average grades, but no extra curricular activities," he said, eyeing my file.

I coughed, "Uh, yeah, I'm not that into sports."

He then held up a finger and looked at Scott. "McCall…you're the Scott that dated my granddaughter."

Stiles and I sent Scott concerned glances as he answered. "We were dating, but not anymore. Not dating. Not seeing any of each other or doing anything with each other," he rambled and I had to hide my smile behind my hand.

"Relax, Scott. You look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill between your teeth," Mr. Argent smiled slightly.

"Just a hard break up," Scott explained to him.

"Now that's too bad," Mr. Argent began. "You seem like a pretty nice kid to me. Now listen guys, yes, I am the principal, but I really don't want you to think of me as the enemy."

"That so?" Stiles mumbled and I elbowed him in the ribs, sending him a warning look.

"However, this being my first day, I really need to support my teachers. So, unfortunately, someone is going to have to take the fall and stay behind for detention," he continued and I swore he narrowed his eyes at Stiles.

Scott turned to me and I shook my head furiously, eyes wide as I turned to Stiles. He looked up at the two of us and gaped before sighing and giving Mr. Argent a nod.

We quickly scrambled out of the office and separated. Stiles to detention and Scott and I to the front door, just in time to see Isaac being driven away in a police car. Isaac sent us a pleading look from the back window as he was taken from the school. I ran a hand through my hair.

"This isn't good, Scott," I said and he nodded, agreeing with me. Then, a familiar Camaro pulled up and the window was rolled down. Derek stared at them from behind his glasses.

"Get in," he ordered.

"Are you serious?" I scoffed.

"You did that," Scott pointed in the direction the car drove away. "That's your fault."

"I know that. Now get in the car and help me," Derek responded.

"No," I said loudly. "How about I call a lawyer because a lawyer might have an actual chance of getting him out of there before the freaking full moon!" I threw my hands up in the air exasperatedly.

"Not when they do a real search of the house," his voice was urgent.

"What do you mean by that?" Scott asked hesitantly.

"Whatever Jackson said to the cops, what's in the house is worse. A lot worse," Derek said and pulled the door to his car open. Scott slid into the front seat and I hurriedly hopped into the back. The door to my seat was barely closed when Derek stepped on the gas, speeding us to Isaac's house.

* * *

"So if Isaac didn't kill his father, who did?" Scott asked, flashing his flashlight around the dark house.

"I don't know yet," Derek said gruffly.

"Well then how do you know he's telling the truth?" Scott asked and I rubbed my forehead at his skepticism.

"Because I trust my senses and it's a combination of them. Not just your sense of smell," he looked pointedly at Scott and I snorted.

"You saw the lacrosse thing today," Scott said sheepishly.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Did it look that bad?" the beta asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, you bet it did," I said before Derek could respond. Scott flicked me and I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know it's true, Scooby."

"Scooby?" Scott asked, incredulous. "Are you kidding me?"

Derek opened a door that lead to the basement and shoved Scott in front of it. "You want to learn? Start now." Scott walked down the stairs cautiously and Derek motioned for me to go next. I followed Scott and looked around the dark area nervously.

"What's down here?" I inquired, shivering.

"Motive," Derek answered as cryptically as ever.

"And what exactly am I looking for?" Scott shone his flashlight around the messy basement.

"Follow your senses," he said, standing near the stairs as we looked around. I looked down at the ground and pulled at Scott's sleeve so he'd look down too.

"What happened down here?" I asked shakily, inspecting the locked up freezer on the floor. Scott pushed the chains off the freezer and opened it.

"The kind of thing that leaves an impression."

I let my eyes wander around the scratch marks that adorned the inner parts of the freezer. I immediately felt sick as I pictured Isaac locked in there, trying to claw his way out.

"This is why he said yes to you," I said softly.

"Everyone wants power," Derek said as we turned to face him.

"If we help you, you have to stop. You can't just go around turning people into werewolves," Scott argued.

"I can if they're willing," Derek retorted, his eyes flashing to me. "Though most aren't, so you have nothing to worry about." My eyes averted to my feet, but Scott didn't seem to notice this for once.

"Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?" Scott pressed on.

"Yes, and he still asked," he replied.

"Then he's an idiot," Scott concluded. I hit Scott in the arm with my elbow warningly.

"And you're the idiot dating Argent's daughter," Derek shot back and Scott looked up at him, surprised. "Yeah, I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it's going to take them to find out? You saw what happened to an Omega."

I looked between the two. "What happened to the Omega?"

"He got cut in half," Derek answered before turning back to Scott and placing a hand on his shoulder. "With me, you learn how to use all of your senses. With me, you learn control. Even on a full moon," he glanced down at Scott's hands, which were growing claws. Scott quickly jerked away from his touch.

"If I'm with you, I lose her," he said weakly.

"You're going to lose her anyway and you know that," Derek stated and turned to walk away. I looked at Scott and he gave me a nod.

"I'm not part of your pack, but I want him out," Scott said and Derek stopped, looking back at us. "It's my responsibility, too."

"Why, because he's one of us?" Derek asked.

"Because he's innocent," I spoke up. Derek's eyes met mine and he must've seen the resolve in them because he muttered a low 'okay', before walking up the stairs.

* * *

Stiles, Derek, and I sat in the blue Jeep in front of the police station, silence enveloping us.

"Okay," Stiles' voice broke through the silence. "Now, the keys to every cell are in a password protected lock box in my dad's office. The problem is getting past the front desk."

"I'll distract her," Derek said, going to open the car door.

Stiles grabbed his shoulder warningly. "Whoa, you? You're not going in there." Derek glared at his hand and Stiles quickly moved it off. "I'm taking my hand off." I chuckled at his discomfort and he rolled his eyes at me.

"I was exonerated," Derek said slowly.

"You're still a person of interest," Stiles said.

"An innocent person," Derek corrected.

"In-you?" Stiles laughed in disbelief. "Yeah, right."

"Stiles, just let him go, okay?" I said from the back seat. "There's no point in arguing."

"Fine, what's your plan?" Stiles asked.

"To distract her," Derek said as if talking to a baby.

"Uh-huh. How? By punching her in the face?" Stiles made an odd facial expression and Derek laughed sarcastically.

"By talking to her."

"Okay, alright then. Give me a sample. What are you going to open with?" Stiles looked at him.

Derek sighed and stared back, eyebrow raised.

"Dead silence. That should work beautifully. Any other ideas?"

"Thinking about punching you in the face," Derek retorted and Stiles' mouth opened in surprise.

"Go ahead, Derek," I said, pushing Stiles' face out of my way. "We'll be right behind you."

Derek exited the car and Stiles and I sat in the car for a moment.

"You ready?" he asked and I nodded after a second of thought.

We quietly walked into the station, careful not to draw attention away from Derek, who was actually _smiling_ at the female worker charmingly.

I took a second to roll my eyes before following Stiles into his father's office. Stiles made me stand guard as he inspected the room and I looked around the hallway anxiously. When the fire alarm sounded, I ran straight into the cell room where Stiles was on the floor behind a desk and Isaac was throwing a guy dressed as a police officer into a wall, a needle clutched in his hand.

"Zarina, get down here," Stiles hissed quietly, but Isaac heard him. With one final blow to the head, Isaac knocked the hunter out and turned to me, sidestepping the needle that'd fallen to the ground.

Isaac grabbed me by my neck and thrust me against a wall, cutting off my air supply. I vaguely heard Stiles call out my name, but I was beginning to feel light headed. Suddenly, the burning sensation that was slowly beginning to become familiar to me was present behind my eyes and soon Isaac tore his grip from my neck, his eyes narrowing as he threw himself away from me. I fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Derek walked into the room not too long afterwards and crushed the needle under his shoe before turning to the beta, who was snarling at me dangerously. He growled loudly at him and Isaac pressed himself up against the wall, whimpering as he returned to his human form.

"How did you do that?" Stiles asked Derek. "How did _you_ do _that?" _He turned to me, his eyes filled with fear.

"What? What'd I do?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Your eyes," Stiles said. "They were white. After they changed color, Isaac let you go."

I looked up at Derek who looked at me just as curiously, but his expression was hard. I then turned back to Stiles, who was still looking at me in fear and I knew that I had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

**AN: ****_Second chapter wooo. Thank you for the reviews and follows, they mean so much to me! _**

**_And we finally get some Isaac action oooooh. Wonder how he's going to treat our little Zarina, hmm?_**

**_As always, please try to review and favorite because although I love writing, it makes it even better for me to know people are enjoying it as much as I am!_**

**_xx _**


	3. Three

**Disclaimer: Teen Wolf doesn't belong to me. If it did, Stiles wouldn't be going through as much pain as he is. Meh.**

* * *

"So…what are you?" Stiles asked.

The two boys had come to my house the morning after Stiles and I had freed Isaac from prison and they were sitting in front of me on my bed, waiting for me to explain. When I realized I couldn't, the room had fallen into one of the most uncomfortable silences we'd ever endured in our friendship.

Scott smacked Stiles' head and gave him a stern frown. "Give her time," he said. "It's not easy for any of us, okay?"

"It's okay, Scott," I said, my voice hoarse. "I guess I should start from the beginning." They nodded and I took a calming breath.

"Remember when you broke out of the handcuffs at Stiles' house and went on a frenzy looking for Allison?" I asked, looking at Scott. He nodded, confused. "As soon as you left, I went out to find Derek. In the old Hale house."

"Why the hell would you go there?" Stiles exclaimed, mouth ajar.

"Because Scott needed help," I snapped. "But apparently Derek already knew where Scott would be, so he wasn't there when I went to find him. But someone _was_ there…" I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Peter was there," I finished and the two boys' heads snapped up to look at me. "He was at the house and before I could leave, he attacked me and he, uh, he bit me. In the shoulder."

The room was silent. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife if you tried and I could see Scott's eyes glowing golden in his anger.

"He what?!" Scott burst out angrily, his hands clenched. "He bit you?"

"That bastard," Stiles muttered, voice low. "If he weren't dead, I'd kill him."

"Guys," I intervened as gently as possible. "Please, stop. Don't be angry. It's over."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Scott yelled. "We could've helped you!"

"There was nothing to help, Scott!" I yelled back and he froze. "Okay? The bite didn't change me. It healed, yeah, but I was- I'm not a werewolf. I figured that since I didn't change, I wouldn't bother you with it!"

"But something about you _did _change, didn't it?" Stiles said, calmer than before. I gave him a grateful look and nodded.

"Yeah. Since that night, there's been this pain behind my eyes. It's like a fire is being lit back there and it's burning my eyes to a crisp. It comes and goes, but lately, it's been coming more often than it's been going," I said. "Then, the other day, after my phone call with you guys, the burning turned into a stabbing kind of pain. Excruciating, even. Derek was with me at the time because he'd sensed some type of powerful energy around my area and when I looked in the mirror, my eyes were white. Just like you saw, Stiles."

"So your eyes turn white and apparently werewolves don't like it," Stiles said. "Good to know."

"What does he mean 'werewolves don't like it'?" Scott was finally calm, or well, calmer than before.

"Yesterday, at the police station, Isaac attacked her and then she did her weird eye thingy and he backed off, but he still seemed pretty pissed. Instead of being scared," Stiles realized. "What do you think that means?"

I shrugged. I knew about as much as them. Then my eyes drifted to my canvas, where my drawing of Peter biting me was still perched. Stiles followed my gaze and gasped.

"What the hell!" he flailed his arms dramatically. "What is that?"

"Another thing about this 'condition' of mine is that sometimes, I draw things. And then when I regain my own mind, I don't remember even doing it. But I know I did it because there's usually charcoal on my hands afterwards. Apparently my eyes turn white when I do that, according to Derek," I explained.

The boys took a second to digest this and so did I. In a normal world, this whole prospect would be unbelievable, unheard of, but in our world, it was just plain weird.

"To restate Stiles' previous question," Scott said hesitantly. "What are you?"

"I don't know," I said slowly, getting an idea. I looked up at them and they returned my gaze. "But I know someone who might."

* * *

I sat on a metal table in Deaton's office, watching him as he bustled around the room. It was near lunchtime by then. I didn't realize how busy the vet office was on Saturdays.

"I apologize for the delay," Deaton said as he finally settled near me, his work done. "A lot of animals have been having trouble lately. Weekends are usually easy to handle."

I just nodded in understanding and glanced at Scott and Stiles, who were standing against the wall, watching us.

"So what can I help you with today?" Deaton asked me.

I shifted on the table and crossed my legs. I then began to explain to him my whole situation and instead of becoming more confused, like I thought he would during my story, he seemed to only comprehend it more as I went on.

"You say you underwent these changes after the bite?" he asked. I nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Well, I think I may have an explanation for you, but I'm not entirely sure it's accurate."

"Please, Deaton," I pleaded. "Any explanation at this point is better than what I have now. Nothing."

He sighed and gave me a long look before speaking. "I believe you may be an Oracle."

I took a second to process this. "I mean, I guess that explains the black outs and the white eyes and the drawings. But how are you so sure about this? For all we know, my drawings could just be a bad case of sleep walking."

"See, Zarina, when Oracles give their, for lack of a better word, predictions of the future, they tend to speak in ways that are difficult to comprehend. In your case, they're drawings. You may not realize it now, but your drawings could be the key to preparing yourselves for future threats," Deaton said without hesitation.

"But how does this explain the way Isaac reacted to her back in the station?" Stiles piped up, confused.

"Ah, yes," Deaton said. "Are you familiar with the story of how the Oracle came to be, Zarina?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "Wasn't the old Oracle Pythia? She was guarded by an earth dragon, who was Apollo's mortal enemy, so the god slayed the creature and possessed the oracle for himself."

"Exactly," Deaton praised, "You mentioned Apollo. What god is he exactly?"

"The god of the sun," my voice got quieter as the realization hit me. "Wait, basically since the Oracle does the bidding of the Sun, werewolves, creatures of the Moon, feel threatened by it?"

Deaton nodded, a smile on his face. "I always knew you were a smart girl, Zarina."

"Hold on," Scott interjected. "Why was this Oracle thing triggered by Peter's bite?"

"Naturally, since the bite would've caused her to become a child of the Moon, the inner Oracle awakened inside of her, forcing the Moon out and replacing it with the gift of the Sun that had been asleep inside her," Deaton answered. "That would also explaining the burning behind your eyes that you've been talking about."

"Is there any way to control it?" Stiles asked.

"Around werewolves, Zarina's inner Oracle is going to try and come out, hence why her eyes turned white when she was being choked by Isaac. The Oracle emerges in order to protect her from the Moon's power, to put it simply. You can try and control it, but you'd need practice," Deaton said, turning to me. "However, that's probably the only time you'll actually be able to keep your power at bay. Prophecies aren't things that you can restrain, so when they come, you'll have no power over them."

I nodded. There wasn't much for me to say. I semi-blamed Peter for causing this to happen to me, but I figured that the Oracle power would've woken up eventually, so might as well deal with it sooner than later. Still, I was uneasy.

"Why me?" I asked softly. "I'm not fit for something like this."

"That, I can't answer," he said sadly. "But, I can tell you that you are strong enough to fill this position. The gift of the Oracle isn't granted to just anyone. It's only granted to those who are capable of using it for good."

I looked down at my hands, which were intertwined tightly on my lap. I didn't know what to do. I felt stressed and anxious and plain scared. I was too young to have to hold such a large burden on my shoulders. I was positive that I'd screw it up, much like everything else I did.

I felt Scott and Stiles' gazes burning into my head and I knew they felt guilty that I had to go through this. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to look up at them. The whole thing was too much for me. I knew I wanted answers, but maybe I wasn't ready for them, seeing as how I wasn't taking the news very well.

"Zarina," Stiles' voice broke me out of my reverie and I saw him sit next to me on the metal table. He held out a hand on my lap and I untwined my fingers, instead locking my right hand with his left one. His thumb traced patterns on the back of my hand soothingly.

"I know it's hard to deal with right now, but you have to realize that you're not alone. Scott and I will be there with you every step of the way, alright?" I looked up at him and he smiled at me, brown eyes twinkling.

"But what if I screw things up? What then?" I asked, voice small.

Stiles chuckled and shook his head. "You won't screw things up. If anything, you'll make them easier. It's nice to have a little heads up before getting threatened by mythical creatures."

A small laugh escaped my mouth and I felt myself relax. Scott went to sit on my other side and he threw an arm around me.

"There's that smile," he said jokingly. "You'll be fine, Rina. Like Stiles said, we won't let you go through this alone. You'll be fine."

I turned to Scott and nodded, wrapping my other arm around him in a side hug. I saw Deaton watching us with a wistful smile from the corner of my eye and I turned my head to him.

"Thank you, Deaton," I said sincerely. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."

The vet smiled at me and bowed his head gently. "You don't have to tell me anything. Just try to keep Scott here alive, alright? This vet can't be run by one person, you know."

The three of us laughed and I nodded at him. "I'll do my best."

* * *

I stared up at the rock wall uneasily. Werewolves, I could handle. Heights, not really. Danny looked at me and laughed, nudging me slightly as he put on his harness.

"You'll be fine, Zee," he assured. "I'll be right next to you the whole time."

"You better be, Mahaelani," I said warningly and he chuckled, dimples shown on his face.

Danny stayed true to his word, sticking nearby as we climbed the wall and it made me wonder if it was possible to hate Danny. I mean, he was just so nice and charming. If he were straight, I'd be in love with him.

When we finally descended the wall and rid ourselves of our harnesses, Danny looked at me. "Was that so bad?"

"Ha-ha," I smirked. "You're lucky you're so cute, Dee."

He gave me a cheeky grin before we made our way back into the sea of students watching the wall. I observed as Allison and Scott put the harnesses on and began climbing. Allison was way above Scott when she paused suddenly after he said something, allowing him to catch up. I raised an eyebrow curiously.

Stiles walked up to me with a giant grin on his face and I turned to him. "What's got you so happy?" I asked.

"I get to take Lydia out tonight," he said proudly. I pushed down the weird feeling in my chest and plastered on a smile.

"Like on a date?"

"Well, a double date," he fixed. "But a date, nonetheless!"

I pursed my lips and nodded, trying to seem happy for him, though the aching feeling in my chest wasn't helping anything.

I turned back to the wall and saw Scott tumble down from the wall, landing two inches from the ground. I smothered my laughs with my hand as Coach Finstock knelt by Scott to tell him something.

"Stilinski! Reyes! You're up!" he yelled after getting up from his crouched position.

"Wish me luck," Stiles said before walking over to the harnesses.

Erica came from the other side, hair as disheveled as ever and her expression terrified. I felt bad for the girl. I was partnered with her for some projects and she was actually really cool to hang out with.

I paid no mind to Stiles, who climbed the wall with ease. Instead I watched as Erica struggled pulling herself up halfway. I took a cautious step forward as she started to shake and cry. I bit my lip worriedly, wishing I could help.

"Erica! Is it vertigo?" Coach called from the mat as the class gathered around.

"Vertigo is a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear," Lydia said. "She's just freaking out."

"I-I'll be fine," Erica's shaky voice called out and I sent death glares to the class as giggles erupted from people's mouths.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison said.

"Yeah," I added. "You know she's epileptic. Right?"

We turned to Coach, who was gaping. "Why? Why does no one tell me these things?" he mumbled. "Okay, Erica, just push off the wall. There's a mat here to catch you."

Erica did as she was told and as soon as she hit the ground, she discarded the harness, pushing her way through the crowd as they laughed at her expense. I watched sympathetically as she headed to the locker room. No one deserved this, especially such a sweet girl.

After that, class went by quickly and Allison and I were changing in the locker room.

As I was sliding on my shirt, I felt the burning sensation behind my eyes and I saw Erica falling from the rock wall in my mind. I tugged my shirt down and stood abruptly, sprinting into the gym. Allison called my name from behind me, but I ignored her.

I entered and saw Erica fall from the rock wall. "Erica!" I called out, about to run to her aid, but Scott was somehow able to dive in time to catch her. I ran up to them and knelt as Scott held her tightly as her body shook violently.

"Put her on her side," I commanded and he did so.

Allison showed up next to Scott and looked at the two of us curiously. "How did you two know?"

"I just felt it," we said in unison, watching Erica's body tremble in Scott's arms.

* * *

I slid into the lunch table next to Scott and opened my water bottle, taking a sip. My eyes wandered the cafeteria looking for Stiles and I saw him with Boyd, giving him money.

"What is Stiles doing?" I turned to Scott.

"He's getting the keys to the ice rink for our double date," Scott shrugged. "Guess Boyd drives a hard bargain. He's making him pay fifty dollars."

I rolled my eyes and Stiles walked up to us excitedly, throwing the keys on the table. "Got 'em," he said. "I'll pick you up after your shift."

I leaned to the side when I saw the cafeteria doors open and my water bottle fell onto my tray. Scott looked as well and his jaw nearly hit the ground.

Stiles turned slowly as Erica strutted into the cafeteria in an outfit that I was sure broke all the dress code rules this school had. Her make-up was dark and seductive, which was a total difference from the old Erica, who hadn't seen foundation in her life.

"What, the holy hell, is that?" Lydia asked, her hands slamming onto the table. We watched as Erica took a bite out of a poor boy's apple, smirking at everyone before turning around and heading out the doors again.

Scott, Stiles and I shared a look before grabbing our things and following her to the parking lot. We sprinted through the halls and burst out the doors to see Erica sliding into a black Camaro. From his window, Derek gave us a cocky grin before speeding off.

* * *

The next day at lunch, Stiles was telling me about his 'date' with Lydia. "She just started screaming bloody murder all of a sudden," Stiles said, looking quite perplexed.

I took a bite of my pizza and shrugged. "Maybe she's just seeing things. Getting bitten by Peter is kind of traumatizing. I'd know."

"She has a point," Scott agreed. "Lydia might just have post traumatic stress disorder."

Stiles merely pursed his lips and looked around the cafeteria, eyes narrow. I continued eating my lunch and slapped Scott's hand away when he tried to take my soda.

"Wait," Stiles said. "Do you see that?" He pointed discreetly at a table.

"An empty table?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah, but who's empty table?" he said quickly and I knew he already knew the answer to his question.

"Boyd's," Scott answered, voice quiet.

We raced into the hallway, lunch long forgotten, as we made a plan to find Boyd. Stiles would go check his house and Scott and I would look in the ice rink. Knowing Derek's desperation for a pack, he wouldn't waste time in finding the lonely boy, so we needed to act quickly.

Scott and I filed into his mom's car and sped to the ice rink. As soon as the car stopped, we jumped out of it and sprinted into the rink.

"Boyd!" Scott called out as we stepped onto the ice cautiously. Boyd just sat on top of the Zamboni, ignoring him.

"Boyd, please listen to us," I said loudly. I saw Boyd's body deflate as he sighed and turned the machine off. We got closer until we were both standing in front of the Zamboni.

"Did Derek tell you about everything? And not just the full moons, I mean _everything_," Scott said pleadingly.

"He told me about the hunters," Boyd admitted and I bit the inside of my cheek.

"And that's not enough for you to say no?" I asked gently.

"Whatever you want, there's other ways to get it," Scott said.

"I just want to not eat lunch alone everyday," Boyd overlapped.

"In my opinion, you could definitely find a better friend than Derek," I replied truthfully.

"Ouch, Zarina," Derek's voice came from behind us and Scott and I whipped around to face him. "That hurt." I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance.

"At least take a consensus," he continued as his two little betas smirked at the two of us. "Erica, how's life for you?"

"In a word – transformative," she let out a roar as emphasis.

"That's great, blondie. Thanks for the input," I remarked. She glowered at me, but I simply pouted mockingly. _I dare you._

"Isaac?" Derek asked, ignoring my outburst. Isaac's head was cocked to the side, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great," he smirked and gave me a wink. I shook my head and took a breath, scoffing at his cocky attitude.

"This isn't exactly a fair fight," Scott said from beside me and we looked at each other.

"Then go home, you two," Derek shrugged, not seeming too sorry.

"Uh, I think he meant for them," I gestured to the new betas and Scott's eye glowed as he punched the ice beneath us. I had to fight back my grin at his overdramatic reaction.

Erica and Isaac lunged at Scott rabidly and I just narrowly stepped out of their way, avoiding their attack. I stumbled closer to the edge of the arena, watching as the three wolves battled it out. Derek simply watched on with amusement.

Scott then threw Isaac and Erica across the ice, both of them sliding to Derek's feet. I hurried to Scott's side as he began to rant.

"It's all about power! He's turned you into a bunch of guard dogs," Scott growled.

"It's true," Derek agreed, voice confident. "It is all about power."

Derek walked towards us menacingly, eyes red and claws extended. He promptly pushed me to the ground and I grunted as the harsh cold made contact with my back. Derek head-butted Scott and slashed through his shirt, not holding anything back. Scott was being beaten to a bloody pulp, despite his attempts to fight back. Blood came out of Scott's mouth as he was continually punched in the face.

I slipped as I stood again, tackling Derek off of Scott's injured body. "Stop Derek!" I said as we tumbled to the ground.

Derek soon got the upper hand and pinned me to the ice, eyes angry and fangs bared at me. "Stay out of this," he said lowly.

I felt my eyes burn at the presence of all these werewolves and when Derek shot off of my body, I knew my eyes had changed. He and his two betas were crouched nearby, growls escaping their lips as they looked at me. I got up and narrowed my white eyes at the pack.

"Leave," my voice was dark and the burning grew gradually when they didn't move.

Suddenly, Derek was clutching at his throat, which was growing redder and redder as I glared at him.

"Derek?" Isaac asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's," Derek breathed out, "burning."

Erica turned to me accusingly, but I didn't let my eyes leave Derek. "Leave," I repeated, "Or I might just burn his neck off."

Isaac and Erica hoisted Derek up by his armpits and walked off with him, Boyd in tow.

"Boyd stop," Scott said from his position on the ground. "You don't want to be like them."

"No," Boyd replied, lifting his shirt up to reveal a wolf bite. "I want to be like you."

He hurried to catch up with his new pack and when he was out of sight, I felt the burning in my eyes subside and I rushed to Scott. I fell to my knees and pressed my hands on his bleeding wound.

"Deaton. We have to go to Deaton," Scott said weakly, coughing. I nodded and hoisted him up, helping him to his car.

* * *

I lugged Scott into the vet's office and was met with Deaton, who was studying a dead body on his examination table. My eyes turned to saucers as I saw the deep claw marks on the body's chest.

"Deaton," I said, breaking out of my shock. The vet turned to me and helped me with Scott when he saw the bleeding. "Why isn't he healing?"

Deaton let Scott sit on another table as he prepared supplies. "It's because the wound is from an Alpha. But, I think the three of us need to talk," he said, eyes turning to the two of us.

"Yeah," I agreed, rubbing my eyes subconsciously. "We do."

* * *

**AN: ****_I've been on a writing spree oh my goshh. I can't stop! But yeah, you get some friendship feels and Zarina's starting to get jealous of Lydia and Stiles, ooohhh. We also find out what the hell is up with Zarina! Yikes. But is that all there is to it? WE SHALL FIND OUT SOON._**

**_Thanks to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed so far. You're all sweethearts and I love you all so much 3_**

**_OH AND LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE WAS SO FAR FROM OKAY I WAS LITERALLY CRYING THE WHOLE TIME. Ugh Stiles, my bby. He's going through so much pain like does anyone else wanna give him a hug? Cause I do._**

**_As always, please try to review and favorite. It means so much to me (:_**

**_xx_**


	4. Four

**Disclaimer: Seeing as how I am not Jeff Davis, I'd say I don't own Teen Wolf. Sadly.**

* * *

I watched as Deaton pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and poured it onto a cotton ball before dabbing it onto Scott's cut.

"They're coming back, so we don't have much time," he said, head still bowed over Scott's torso. "It'll heal the same, just not as quickly because Derek's an Alpha," I heard him say.

The dead body laying on the table distracted me. I let my eyes trace the deep marks on his chest as I stood over it. I felt bad for him. Whoever had killed him didn't do it on accident.

"How do you know all this?" Scott asked suddenly. "Actually, how do you know anything?"

"That is a much longer story I'd rather not delve into," Deaton replied curtly.

I gently lifted the body's head to see a cut across the back of his neck. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I inspected the cut.

"What I can tell you is that I know about your kind. Both of your kinds," Deaton turned to me and I immediately placed the head back onto the table. "But I feel that I'll be of more help to Scott's kind."

"Do you know what did this?" I asked, turning away from the body and walking towards him. The vet shook his head.

"No, but the Argents will. They have a book of all the things they've discovered."

"All the things?" Scott asked, sounding surprised.

"Just how many things are there?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Scott's head lifted from the table quickly as the sound of an engine shutting off resounded from the front of the office. Deaton grabbed the both of us and shoved us in a closet, motioning for us to stay quiet.

The familiar chime of a bell rung through the office and I could see Mr. Argent and two of his men enter the room from the cracks in the closet door. Gerard, Allison's grandpa, stepped in after them and Scott covered my mouth with his hand to stifle my harsh breathing. He leaned closer to the door, hand still clamped over my mouth as he listened to the conversation.

After what felt like a lifetime, the Argents left and Scott dropped his hand from my mouth. He opened the door and we exited the closet before I asked him to leave me and Deaton alone for a second. He looked at me oddly, but nodded. I stayed silent until I heard the bell chime.

"I'm assuming you have more questions, Miss Carlisle?" Deaton asked from the other side of the room. I hopped onto the table Scott had once occupied and nodded.

"Earlier, at the ice rink, I did something to Derek," I started softly, "My eyes had changed and I was just glaring at him and all of a sudden, his neck started to burn. Like, literally, burning on the inside."

He thought for a moment before responding. "You remember how I told you that the power of the Oracle would protect you from the Moon's power?" I nodded. "That's one of the ways it does so. If it senses danger, it'll immediately go on the defensive, burning whatever it is that's threatening you."

"But I don't think Derek was actually going to hurt me," I argued. "I think he was just trying to scare me off and it got out of hand."

"That's where you must learn to control this power," Deaton said. "I know it's difficult, but you must be able to harness the power so that you only hurt those with the intentions of hurting you. Otherwise, your power will go on a frenzy every time danger arises, burning whomever and whatever it pleases."

"Well that's unsettling," I murmured and Deaton gave me a grim smile. "But, thanks for the help. Again."

He simply gave me a nod before I went to the front door, pausing for a second before pushing it open and exiting, frigid air biting my skin.

"You good?" Scott asked. I gave him a tight smile before nodding.

"Why're we still waiting here?" I asked. Scott looked sheepish.

"I was supposed to meet Allison here, but she hasn't shown up yet," he replied, scratching the back of his neck. Then, his phone chimed and he sighed.

"Stiles?" I asked and he nodded.

"He said he needs us to meet him at the car shop. Emergency," Scott reported before returning to his phone, probably texting Allison that he couldn't wait up for her any longer.

I held out my hand for the keys to Ms. McCall's car. Scott simply stared at my hand in confusion.

"I'll drive," I said and he shook his head furiously as he began to walk to the car.

"Yeah, how about not?" Scott retorted. "Last time you drove, I got whiplash. Because of a 45 degree right turn."

I hummed and I felt my cheeks grow pink at the memory. Scott grinned as I hopped into the passenger's seat, mumbling a defeated 'fine'. My friend started the car and drove us to the place where Stiles was.

When we arrived, police cars and EMTs were everywhere, swarming the outside of the building. We stayed in the car, waiting for Stiles to come and as soon as the back seat's door opened, I craned my head to look at him. He looked pale and disoriented.

"You alright?" I asked, eyeing him worriedly.

"Yeah, it's just there was this thing that attacked me and the repair guy. Whatever it was, it wasn't a werewolf. It had a tail and it's eye were all reptilian. But there was something about it," Stiles said and due to the lack of his usual hyperactivity, I knew he was disturbed by what he'd seen.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked as he drove.

"You know when you see a friend in a Halloween mask? But all you can see are their eyes? You know them, but you just can't figure out who it is," Stiles replied.

"Are you saying you know who it is?" Scott glanced in the rearview mirror at him.

"No, but I think it knew me," he said. He sighed and Scott changed the topic to what had occurred at the ice rink to the two of us as he drove us home.

* * *

When I woke up, my pajamas and hands were dirty and they smelled like garbage. My nose crinkled at the smell and I stared at my hands for a second before my canvas caught my eye. My first ever drawing that I'd done, the one of the reptilian creature, stared me in the face. It was, like me, dirty and it was messily taped up so that each torn section connected to each other to recreate the picture I'd tried to erase from my mind.

My breathing turned ragged as I got out of bed and held the drawing in my hands. I was sure I'd thrown my trash away after tearing the illustration to pieces. But then I realized why I was dirty. I must've dug through our trash to get the pieces out and then I taped them back together. But, why?

When the picture started to shake, I realized that my hands were trembling in fear. If my Oracle self had gone through so much trouble to fix this drawing and put it back together, it must've been some kind of prophecy. I stuffed the crinkled paper into my backpack and went to the bathroom to shower.

I sighed in content as the hot water erased all traces of dirt and garbage from my body. Steam quickly filled the room as the water reached a high temperature. The stress of everything was getting to me and I really needed something to soothe me.

As I finished conditioning my hair, I felt my eyes burn and suddenly I wasn't in the bathroom anymore.

_I was in a library. Books were piled high on shelves that were rocking back and forth dangerously. I looked up when I saw a shadow jump from on shelf to another. I followed it into another row and flinched when it landed in front of me with a loud crash._

_I was staring into slitted, reptilian eyes that were completely familiar to me. They recognize who I was, but that didn't stop the maliciousness from seeping into its expression. It moved toward me slowly, taking big steps with its webbed feet. Its tailed swung leisurely from behind and its mouth was stretched into what seemed to be a grin, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth._

_It stopped directly in front of me, its slitted nose inches from my own. It lifted a hand slowly, teasingly and I saw five claws inch nearer to my neck, a clear liquid dripping from the tips._

_The creature moved my hair and I started to breathe more erratically when it scratched the back of my neck deeply. At first I felt a sharp sting, and then nothing. Nothing but numbness in my entire body. It jumped back onto the bookshelves and I fell onto my side, unable to do anything but let the tears fall down my face._

_Through the blurriness, I could see a chalkboard nearby. Something was written on it, but I couldn't quite decipher…._

I took a sharp intake of breath and moved my head around frantically. I was no longer in the shower. Instead, I was standing in front of my fogged up mirror, towel already wrapped around my shivering body. I rubbed the back of my neck experimentally and was relieved when I felt nothing.

My head lifted and I backed away from the mirror as I read what I had written in the foggy glass.

**Stay out of my way or I'll kill you all.**

Before I could stop myself, I let out a loud scream, falling onto the floor in terror.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stiles asked for the millionth time as we sat on the stairs, waiting for Scott.

After hearing my scream, my brother rushed into my bathroom to find me shaking on the ground in fetal position. The message I'd written on my mirror had dissipated, leaving him confused and worried for my mental health. He'd tried to convince me to take the day off, but I argued. I didn't want to let my newfound powers render me weak and useless. I had texted Scott and Stiles about the predicament on my way to school. Unsurprisingly, they were concerned about me.

I rolled my eyes at Stiles and nodded. "Yes," I said and when he opened his mouth, I continued. "And if you ask one more time, I'll seriously consider punching you in the throat."

He held up his hands in defense and Scott arrived, sitting on Stiles' right on the step. Automatically, Stiles turned to Scott and cleared his throat.

"Allison wanted me to relay a message," he announced. I sat back, eyebrow raised in amusement as I listened on.

"I'm so sorry about the other day, I'm trying. We'll get through this. I know because I love you. I love you more than- Oh my god," Stiles made a disgusted face and I laughed, my head tipping back. "I can't. You and Allison just have to find a better way to communicate."

"Come on," Scott pleaded with him. "You're the only person we can trust besides Rina, and I'm sure she'd rather not do this." Scott looked at me and I shook my head, agreeing with his statement.

"Plus, it's funnier when you do it, Sti," I grinned at him and he shot me a look.

"Oh," Scott said. "By the way, are you o-"

"I'm fine!" I snapped. "Please don't ask me that. Please."

Scott looked at me disapprovingly before looking at Stiles again. "Is she coming to the game tonight?" he asked.

"Yes!" Stiles replied. "Okay, finally. Message complete. Now, tell me about your boss."

"He thinks the Argents keep some kind of records of all the things they've hunted," Scott whispered. "Like a book."

Stiles clapped his hands once. "He probably means a bestiary."

"What?" Scott stared at us.

"A bestiary," I repeated. Scott then started laughing and Stiles and I looked at each other, puzzled.

"I think you mean bestiality," Scott said through his chuckling. I rolled my eyes and kicked his leg.

"No. Pretty sure we don't," Stiles deadpanned.

"It's an encyclopedia of mythical creatures. Kind of like a story book, except it's real," I explained to him.

"How am I the only one who doesn't seem to know about any of this stuff?" Scott ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"We're your best friends. You're a creature of the night. It's kind of like a priority of ours," Stiles said.

"Okay, if we can find it and it tells us what this thing is," Scott said.

"And who," I added, my mind flashing back to the vision I had in the bathroom.

"We need that book," we said together.

The three of us walked to Scott's locker and Stiles quickly sprinted off to see what Allison knew. Scott and I grinned at each other as he took off.

A few minutes late, Stiles returned, out of breath. "Yeah, she's seen her grandfather with a book like that."

"Ask her where he keeps it!" Scott asked, guilty that Stiles had to run again. Stiles took one more deep breath before running off again. Scott opened up his locker and Stiles returned.

"She said," he took a breath, "has to be," another breath, "in office."

"Ask her if she can get the book," I told him. He sent me a death glare and ran off for a third time.

Minutes later, he was back at our sides, sweaty and breathless. I threw him a water bottle, which he caught gratefully. He downed the whole thing and told us Allison's plan to get the keys to Gerard's office.

Scott shut his locker and nodded at the plan before taking off somewhere, leaving Stiles and I alone. He was watching me warily, as if I were a doll about to crack.

"Stop that," I sneered at him. "I'm not going to start breaking down in the middle of the hallway, you know."

"No it's not that," he replied quickly, arms flailing. "It's just, that thing you said you saw in your vision. The way you described it sounded exactly like the thing that attacked me in the repair shop."

I paled and my eyes widened as I leaned heavily on the locker. "It _was _a prophecy," I said under my breath.

"Wha-What? What was?" Stiles asked quickly. I unzipped my bag and showed him the taped up picture I'd found that morning.

"I drew that the day my eyes turned white for the first time," I explained. "I had ripped it up and threw it in the garbage because I was freaked out."

Suddenly, Scott was beside Stiles and was staring at the drawing as well. I knew he'd already heard my explanation so I didn't repeat it.

"When I woke up this morning, I was dirty and I smelled like garbage," I continued. "And then I found this on my canvas, exactly how it looks right now."

Scott made a face of disgust. "You mean to say that you dug into the garbage just to tape this picture back together?"

I grimaced, but nodded. "Well, technically yes. But I think it was the Oracle powers doing the work."

"This is what attacked me in the shop," Stiles said quietly.

"And it's what I saw in my vision this morning," I said with determination.

"Which means, what exactly?" Scott said.

The two of them looked up at me curiously. "I knew this was coming. And I was right. It's here."

* * *

Later that night, I was sitting in the bleachers, rubbing my arms to keep warm. Stiles had rehashed the plan with me when I arrived and I made sure to keep an eye on Allison, who was sitting with Gerard a few people away from me.

I searched the field for a specific number while the game was in session. #14. I wasn't sure why, but part of me wanted to see if Isaac would show up. But then I remembered he was a fugitive and a part of me deflated.

"Come on! Is that thing even a teenager? I want to see a birth certificate!" Finstock called from the stands, referring to a surprisingly large boy on the other team, who was pummeling our team to the ground.

I saw Stiles and Allison make the quick exchange they had planned and I caught Allison's eye. She nodded at me before returning to sit by Gerard. I let my gaze wander up the bleachers and I blanched when I saw Erica and Boyd sitting amongst everyone. They caught my stare and sent me twin smirks before returning their attentions to the game we were losing.

I pushed down my anger and surprising feeling of disappointment as I jumped off the bleachers to meet Stiles in the parking lot.

"Stiles?" I called out and I jumped when a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Hey," Stiles greeted. "Let's go." He began pulling me to the main building, but stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into his back. He was staring at a familiar looking car and I rolled my eyes when I saw who's it was. Lydia.

"Go," I told him, pushing him in the direction of the car. "Give me the keys. I'll meet you inside, okay?"

Stiles looked at me guiltily, but handed me the keys and jogged to the car window. I pursed my lips and watched for a second, my stomach sinking, before jogging into the building.

I crept through the hallways and found the office. I turned the key slowly and the door opened with a light click. I stepped into Gerard's office and wasted no time in looking in every drawer and bookshelf.

My blue-green eyes danced around each shelf, but there was no leather bound book to be found. I checked the drawers of his desk, but still, nothing but old files and family pictures.

Shutting the final drawer, I froze when I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. I looked up slowly, completely prepared to explain to Gerard why I was snooping in his office, but I slightly relaxed when I saw it was only Isaac.

"You didn't strike me as the nosy type," Isaac said cheekily and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"And you didn't strike me as the incredibly douchy type, either, but I guess we were both wrong," I retorted.

"Bash on my new confidence all you want," he said, but his eyes had an undertone of hurt in them and I felt bad, "but people happen to actually like who I am now."

I sighed and looked at him straight in the eyes, caught in how bright blue they were. "Yeah? Well, believe it or not, I actually really liked who you were before."

He looked surprised, his eyes widening and his mouth agape. He almost looked like the Isaac who sat behind me in chemistry and asked me questions in that adorably sheepish way of his. But then his expression hardened.

"Alright, but news flash. I hated who I was. I was weak," he said coldly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mr. High and Mighty," I replied, just as coldly. "Now, why are you here?"

"I'm here because Derek needs to talk to you," he walked over to me and grabbed my arm. His grip was tight, but gentle, as if he were trying not to hurt me.

I said nothing as I followed him down the hallway. He glanced down at me after a while and I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked.

"You're strangely at ease for someone who's with a wanted fugitive," he answered.

"That's because I know you're not guilty."

"Really? And how do you figure that?"

"Because I know you Isaac. You're better than that."

Isaac stopped in his tracks, which caused me to stumble as I tried to move on, seeing as how my arm was still gripped in his hand.

I turned to him and our eyes connected. His eyes were back to how they usually were, warm and caring as he looked at me in awe. This was the Isaac I remembered. This was the Isaac I knew still survived under his cocky exterior.

"Do you really think that?" he asked me softly.

"Yes," I replied without a beat. "Of course I do."

He inched closer to me and dipped his head so our faces were closer. My face flushed at our close proximity and the sudden warmth of his hand on my arm was getting hotter. His eyes shifted from mine to my mouth rapidly and for a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he blinked harshly and gone was his unguarded expression.

Isaac backed away from me like I was the plague and his face was back to holding that same, disgusting smirk and his eyes were cold once more.

"Come on," he commanded, voice bitter. "Derek's waiting for us."

I followed him wordlessly, my heart still pounding after that moment of intimacy we shared. But I steeled myself. If Isaac was going to pretend like he didn't feel anything, so would I.

* * *

When we reached the pool area, Derek was waiting for us and Stiles was somehow in front of him, Erica not too far behind Derek. Isaac pulled me so I was standing beside Stiles and I wrenched my arm from his grip. He looked at me, hurt, for a moment before sending me a smirk and standing next to Erica.

"Nice of you to join us," Derek said to me and I noticed a basketball in his hands.

"Oh it's not problem," I replied coldly. "There's only a thousand places I'd rather be."

"What were you two trying to find in Gerard's office?" he cut straight to the chase, looking between me and Stiles, who said nothing.

"That's none of your business," I retorted.

"That attitude of yours," Derek sneered, "is going to get you killed."

"I learn from the best," I looked to Stiles, who elbowed me in the side.

Derek turned to Stiles and smirked. "What'd you see in the repair shop, Stiles?"

Stiles shrugged nonchalantly. "Several ETA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting." Derek promptly revealed his claws, deflating the basketball. "Holy god," Stiles flinched.

"Try that again," Derek pushed, silent threat in the air.

"A-All right. The thing was slick looking," Stiles began nervously, staring at Derek's claws in fear. "Um, skin's dark. Kind of patterned. I think I actually saw scales." The room was silent. "Is that enough? Okay? Because I have someone I really need to talk to."

My heart sunk when I realized he meant Lydia and I glanced at him sadly. Isaac saw this and sent me a sad look, which I decided to ignore.

"Huh. Alright, fine, eyes," Derek ordered.

"Eyes are, um, yellowish," Stiles stuttered. "And, um, has a lot of teeth. Oh! And it's got a tail too."

I saw the three werewolves in front of my stare upwards and I followed their gazes. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest as the creature from my vision stared down at us.

"Are we good?" Stiles asked, not realizing it was behind him. "What? Have you seen it? You have this look on your faces like you know exactly what I'm talking about."

I shook Stiles' shoulder and pointed to the creature. "That's because they do," I said unevenly.

We tried to run, but the creature was too fast. It nicked both Erica and Isaac behind their necks, causing them to fall to the ground, numb.

"Isaac!" I heard myself call out. The creature then nicked Derek, but Stiles and I caught him before he could fall.

"Run!" Stiles yelled and we tried to lug Derek past the swimming pool, but we slipped on excess water and dropped him inside accidentally.

Stiles immediately dove in after him, dragging him back up to the surface. I hesitated, but jumped in as well, helping Stiles keep Derek's body afloat.

"Call Scott! Allison?" Stiles said, staring longingly at his phone, which he left at the edge of the pool.

"Oh, god," I groaned. "I'm gonna drown."

"No," Derek said. "I'm gonna drown."

I glanced at him and remembered that he couldn't move. "Good point."

* * *

After a good two hours of holding the paralyzed Alpha up in water, Scott came and drove the creature out by showing it it's own reflection. After getting us out of the water, Scott showed us the USB, which had the bestiary and all its information stored inside. Erica and Isaac were finally able to move again after a few minutes and the six of us relocated to the parking lot.

Scott had pulled out his laptop and plugged in the USB. The three of us were staring at the screen, trying to figure it out.

"Is this even a real language?" I asked in disbelief.

"How are we supposed to figure this out if we can't read the stupid book?" Scott groaned.

"It's called a kanima," Derek chimed in, walking towards us.

"You knew the whole time?" Stiles glared at him.

"No. Only when it was confused by its own reflection," Derek informed us.

"Because it doesn't know what it is," Scott said.

"Or who," Derek agreed, nodding.

"What else do you know?" I spoke up and Derek's eyes flickered to me. I saw Isaac staring at me in worry and Erica rolling her eyes at me, but I paid no mind to either of them.

"Stories. Rumors," he answered shortly.

"But it's like us?" Scott asked.

"A shape shifter, yes. But it's not right. It's like an-"

"Abomination?" Stiles supplied. The Alpha nodded and began to walk away.

"Wait," I stopped him. "I think we need to work together. Maybe even get the Argents involved." Scott nodded from beside me, agreeing with my idea.

"You two trust them?" Derek stared at us accusingly.

"That's the problem!" Scott burst out. "Nobody trusts anyone."

"While we're here arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger, and faster than any of us!" I yelled. "And it's killing people!" I felt the backs of my eyes burn and Derek and his pack stepped back from me warily. "And we _still_ don't know anything about it!" I cried out.

When I saw how freaked out Isaac and Erica looked, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths until the burning subsided. When I reopened them, I glanced at Stiles, who nodded at me, signaling that my eyes had returned to normal.

"I know one thing," Derek said after a moment of silence, regaining his confidence. "When I find it, I'm gonna kill it." He then walked away from us, his betas following him closely.

I turned to my two friends and we all looked defeated. What were we going to do?

* * *

**AN: ****_Double update?! I'm on a rollllll. Might be because I'm super hyper and have no homework, so here I am._**

**_Added some Isaac x Zarina (ship name?) moments for Guest because their review was super sweet and lovely 3_**

**_As per usual, favorite and review if you enjoyed this chapter! It really encourages me to write more and you have no idea how happy I get when I see that people have reviewed._**

**_xx._**


	5. Five

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Never have. Never will. *sigh***

* * *

Stiles rushed into his seat behind Scott and sat loudly. I turned to him from my seat beside our werewolf friend and looked at him questioningly.

"Guys, I just got off the phone with my dad and I have some very, very bad news," Stiles leaned forward.

"Trust me, we know," Scott replied, gesturing with his pen to the front of the class.

The second I noticed him in the classroom, my gaze kept wandering to the back of his curly blonde head. My mind replayed our moment in the hallway and I swear I could feel his warm breath fan on my face again, making my heart pound. Scott looked at me curiously and I soon erased all thoughts of Isaac from my mind, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

We stepped into the hallway and Stiles started to talk about what we had found the other night. "It said that a kanima is a were-jaguar from South America that goes after murderers."

"That thing was not a jaguar," Scott said.

"And I'm not a murderer," Stiles shot back sharply.

"You sure about that?" I teased, smirking at him. "After all that's happened, I wouldn't be surprised."

"If I were a murderer, you'd be my first victim," Stiles deadpanned. I raised my hands in mock surrender and he stuck his tongue out at me, sending me into a fit of giggles.

"Maybe it's because you saw it kill someone and now it wants to kill you!" Scott whispered to himself. "It probably won't stop until your dead."

Stiles gaped at our friend and my giggles turned into loud laughter. "Sometimes I really question this 'friendship'," Stiles made air quotes before catching up to Scott, who was still walking.

* * *

In economics, I sat in the back, making sure to send Lydia a smile before I sat down. She returned it, but no words were exchanged between the two of us. A part of me felt really bad for not talking to her for so long, but I refused to get her more involved in this than she needed to be.

I saw Jackson lean forward to talk to Stiles and Scott, who stiffed and turned to him in surprise. I silently cursed not having werewolf hearing. I desperately wanted to know what he'd said to them.

"Jackson!" Finstock called out. "Do you have something to share with the rest of the class?"

I looked at Stiles and he met my eyes. "What happened?" I mouthed slowly.

Stiles just shook his head, glancing at Jackson. _I'll tell you later._ I rolled my eyes, but gave him a curt nod before turning back to the front. Scott and Stiles' heads were close together and I knew they were talking by the way Stiles was frantically moving his hands around and widening his eyes.

Lydia was at the board at this point, but she was sobbing. And what she had written on the board was definitely not the equation we were assigned to do. I stared at her in concern as she turned to face the class, face wet.

'EM PLEH ENOEMOS' was written on the board multiple times behind her and it took me a second to understand, but when I did, the blood drained from my face.

"Someone help me," I whispered, distraught.

The class was laughing at Lydia, who walked back to her seat in shame, head low. I distinctly remembered the boys mentioning that maybe it was Lydia who was the kanima. Before, I'd disagreed, saying that she was much too normal and innocent for that. However, as I looked at the board, I started to second-guess my argument.

* * *

I pulled my chemistry notebook out of my locker with a sigh. The whole scene with Lydia really started to make me think and I was extremely worried for her wellbeing. There was no way Lydia was capable of being the kanima. It was too improbable, but at the same time, it made sense. This thought only frustrated me further.

"You seem tense," Isaac said from beside me, leaning on the lockers to my left with a slight creak. "Need to talk about it?"

I stiffened and shook my head, slamming my locker shut and locking it, but I stayed where I was, refusing to meet his eyes. I heard him sigh.

"Zarina," Isaac began softly.

"I need to go," I said shortly, about to walk off, but he caught my wrist and whirled me around. I was face-to-chest with him and I turned my head to the side stubbornly.

"What did I do?" he asked, trying to get me to look at him. "Why are you angry?"

"You're trying to kill one of my friends," I hissed lowly. "Sorry for being slightly uncomfortable."

"Hey," Isaac said, offended. "You were the one saying I wasn't capable of murder. What happened to that?"

I finally looked up at him and my eyes narrowed. I almost faltered at the wounded expression on his face, but I stayed firm.

"That changed when you started to listen to Derek like he was law."

"You have to understand," Isaac started. "Derek's the only person I have right now. And the kanima's a big threat. We have to stop it."

"But killing her?" my voice was pleading. "Isaac, please don't do that. You have to trust me, alright? It's not Lydia."

Isaac softened, but he seemed to recall something and his expression was the coldest I'd ever seen it. It was like he was forcing himself to become this cold, uncaring person in order to drive out the person he was before. He probably assumed that any amount of vulnerability he showed would make him weak.

"Trust you?" he scoffed. "You're just some goody-two shoes idiot who thinks she knows me. Why should I trust you? You mean nothing to me and I don't need you to tell me what to do, so just stop trying so hard."

For some reason, that made my heart drop to my stomach and it felt like all the wind had been knocked straight out of my lungs. I could feel a different type of burn in my eyes. The type that signaled the tears that were soon to come down my face. I averted my eyes and bit my lip, trying to hide my face from him.

"She innocent," I said weakly, talking as loud as I dared.

He chuckled darkly, "Is she really? Come on, I thought you knew better than that."

"Yeah, I thought I did too," I retorted. "Like when I said that you were too good to kill someone. I really should've known better than to say that. Because I was wrong." I looked up at him and I knew that he'd be able to see the pain that was shown on my face. I was right.

Isaac's face fell and his eyes were filled with guilt as he observed my broken appearance. Unable to stand the look he was giving me any longer, I wrenched my wrist from his grip.

"This is the last time I'm going to warn you, Lahey," I pointed at him with the last amount of strength I could muster, "Leave her alone."

Before he could say anything more, I turned on my heel and walked away, only letting the tears escape my eyes when I had turned the corner.

* * *

"Derek isn't going to kill her without proof," Scott said.

After my little break down, I had cleaned myself up and put on a straight face. If Isaac wasn't going to listen, then I'd have to stop him.

As the three of us entered the room, the two boys in front of me immediately high tailed it so that Scott was to Lydia's right and Stiles to her left. I sat in the table behind them, pulling out my books and biting the inside of my cheek nervously.

I heard the chairs behind me squeak as they were pulled out and I froze in my seat when I heard Isaac and Erica's hushed voices.

"You'd better hope you're right about your friend," Erica said mockingly behind me. I didn't turn around.

"And you'd better hope I don't burn your pretty little face off," I shot back, already irritated with her.

The threat seemed to do its job because Erica didn't reply, but I did feel a stare burning into my back and, already knowing who it was, I ignored it.

"Einstein once said, two things are infinite," Harris lectured, walking up the aisle. "The universe and human stupidity. Now, I'm not so sure about the universe, but I, myself, have encountered infinite stupidity." He patted Stiles' shoulder and he passed by and tiny laugh escaped my mouth.

"So, to combat the plague of ignorance in this class, we are going to do group experiments," Harris said. "Erica, you take the first station and-" Multiple hands shot into the air. "-I didn't ask for volunteers," Harris seethed at his students. " Mr. McCall, you start with Erica."

With a defeated look sent towards me and Stiles, Scott sat next to Erica, taking Isaac's spot. I was partnered with Danny for the first part of the experiment and I was measuring when I caught Erica sliding her hand up Scott's thigh.

"That bitch," I hissed under my breath, but Danny heard and chuckled at me.

"Jealous, Zee?" he teased quietly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"No," I shook my head and started to measure the ingredients again. "It's just, how can Allison _not_ be ripping her hand off right now? It's crazy."

He simply chuckled again and returned to his part of the procedure. Stiles, who was sitting in front of me, turned and gave me an amused look before turning back to his own project.

When Harris run his bell for us to switch, Danny gathered his things and gave me a wink before walking off. My jaw clenched when Isaac sat next to Stiles. I stared down at the experiment, only taking a second to smile at the random student who sat next to me. I pretended to work as I listened in on their conversation.

"If you harm one hair on her head, I'm going to turn your little werewolf ass into a fur coat and give it to her for Christmas," Stiles said bitingly, unscrewing the top to his bottle.

"Who are you talking about?" Isaac mused. "Lydia or Zarina?"

I saw Stiles' shoulders tense as he replied. "Both."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about Zarina," he said. "But, if she tries to interfere with our plans to kill the kanima, I might have to do something."

"Something…meaning?" Stiles gulped and I leaned forward to catch his answer.

"Thought I'd kill her," Isaac confessed. "Get her out of the way. She's getting irritating for us to deal with."

My fists clenched and I thought I could've cracked the beaker in my hand if I tried. My partner stared at me with a strange face and I loosened my grip on the glass, putting it back on its stand.

The anger I felt at his threat to kill me and the fact that he thought I was irritating was slightly dulled by the pangs of pain reverberating in my chest. Was he being serious? Part of me hoped he wasn't.

The bell to switch dinged and I hurried out of my seat, messily gathering my things in my arms. I sat next to Scott, who was staring at Isaac as he sat next to Lydia, smirking at her. I let in a sharp intake of breath and kept one eye on the pair as I half-heartedly did the rest of the lab.

"If you've done the experiment right, you should see a crystal in your beaker. And here's the fun part, you can eat it," Harris announced.

Isaac pulled the tongs out of the beaker, the crystal glinting with an unknown substance as it was exposed in the sunlit room. Lydia took it between two fingers and held it in front of her before putting it in her mouth.

"Lydia!" Scott and I cried out simultaneously. Lydia pulled the crystal out of her mouth, rolling her eyes and looked at us in annoyance.

"What?" she huffed and the two of us stared at each other for a second before we sat back down in out seats.

"Nothing," I muttered. We were already too late. The poison didn't affect Lydia. Which means they thought she was the kanima.

* * *

"He's waiting outside for Lydia," Scott reported, referring to Derek, who we'd seen leaning against his car through the window of the classroom. Stiles ushered me into the coach's office and I leaned heavily in the doorway.

"Is he going to kill her?" I asked.

"If he thinks she's the kanima, then yeah," Scott disclosed.

My eyes dropped to the floor. I felt slightly responsible for this. I wasn't able to convince Isaac that she was innocent and I couldn't even stop her from eating that stupid crystal. Yet another thing I'd failed to do. Stiles must've noticed my guilt-ridden look because he walked up to me, lifting my chin with his hand.

His brown eyes stared into me deeply and I vaguely wondered if he was able to see through my strong front and into the broken person I really was inside.

"Stop that," he scolded gently.

"Stop what?" I tried to sound like I had no idea what I was doing.

"Looking like it's your fault," he said. "Because it's not."

I looked back at him imploringly, willing him to see it from my point of view, which proved that it was, in fact, my fault. His hand left my chin and moved to my hand, squeezing it three times, just like we'd done when we were younger. In the back of my mind, I remembered how that started.

_It was at his mother's funeral when we were 6 and he was crying into my shoulder, my hand intertwined with his tightly. I had squeezed it three times and he immediately looked up at me, damp eyes confused._

_"Why'd you do that?" he had asked in that high-pitched voice of his._

_"My mom said that when you love someone, you squeeze their hand three times to say 'I love you' without actually saying it," I tried to explain. _

_My mother had a way of explaining things so that even the most ridiculous thing made sense, and I guess I didn't get that quality. Still, Stiles' mouth tilted upwards slightly as he squeezed my hand back three times. _

"It's not Lydia," Stiles said sternly, his hand warm in mine.

"Stiles, she didn't pass the test," Scott tried to reason with him. "Nothing happened."

"It can't be her," Stiles said to himself, trying to figure things out in his head.

"Doesn't matter, cause Derek is positive that it's Lydia," Allison spoke, sitting on coach's desk. "So either: we can think of a way to prove that he's wrong or we have to figure out a way to protect her."

"Derek wouldn't do it at school," I said, wrapping my free arm around my torso. "Too many people. Too much work."

"What about after school?" Allison replied. "What if we can prove him wrong?"

"By three?" Stiles questioned skeptically.

"Maybe there's something in the bestiary," she suggested.

"Oh, so the 900 page book no one can understand because it's written in Archaic Latin?" I said sarcastically.

"There may be someone who can translate it." I could almost see the light bulb above Allison's head as she came up with an idea.

"I can try to talk to Derek. Maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove him wrong," Scott proposed. "But if anything happens, let me handle it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I looked at him, offended.

"You guys can't heal like I can," Scott admitted and I scoffed.

"Scotty, I can burn Derek and his little pack alive from the inside out," I reminded him. Stiles shivered beside me and I sent him an awkward smile. "I think I can handle him."

"Still," Scott pressed on. "I don't want you getting hurt," he looked at Allison specifically. "Any of you."

His girlfriend then proceeded to pull a crossbow from her bag and held it out precariously. "I can protect myself."

Scott walked up to her and started to whisper sweet words to her and I turned away, giving them a second. Beside me, Stiles looked disturbed.

"We'll keep her safe," I assured him.

"I hope it's enough," Stiles muttered, biting his lip and I held his hand tighter.

"We have until three," Scott finished.

Stiles let go of my hand and as the cold air replaced his warmth, I found myself feeling slightly emptier than I had before. I shook it off and threw my hands over my mouth as he accidentally pressed the trigger to Allison's crossbow, which was resting on the table. There was a loud springing noise as the arrow was released. Before it could impale Stiles in the face, Scott whipped around and caught it.

The room was silent as Stiles' ears turned red. "Ah, sensitive trigger," he trailed off, chuckling in embarrassment, giving the huntress her crossbow gingerly.

* * *

Later that day, Stiles, Allison, Jackson (who'd followed us, much to my distaste), and I were walking through the halls, searching for Lydia. When we found her, we quickly moved her towards the doors.

"So why don't we just meet in the library for the study group?" Lydia asked as we pushed her onward.

"Hm, didn't think of that," Stiles mused. No more words were exchanged as the four of us piled into Stiles' car and drove away from the school as fast as possible.

As soon as we arrived at Scott's house, Stiles pushed the three of us through the front door and shut it immediately. He locked it, waited a second, and then dead-bolted it. Lydia and I watched him in curiosity and amusement respectively.

"A lot of break ins," Stiles explained. Then he grabbed a chair and put it under the doorknob. "And a murder," he added. Lydia simply rolled her eyes.

"Lydia, can we talk?" Jackson asked from the kitchen. Lydia only nodded before following him upstairs.

Stiles and I looked at each other for a quick second let out a collective sigh. Allison appeared out of nowhere and the three of us simply sat in the living room quietly, hoping that Scott had somehow managed to get Derek to leave us alone.

"Um, guys," Stiles said nervously from his spot at the window. "Check this out."

Allison and I hurried to him and we looked out the window. Derek and his pack were standing out the house, staring up at it. Lydia and Jackson were still upstairs and I hoped we would be able to hold them off long enough if it were to come to that.

"I have to call my dad," Allison insisted.

"What? No," Stiles disagreed. "You can't."

"I have to," Allison pursed her lips.

"What if…." I thought for a second. "I just burn one of them. With my Oracle powers or whatever."

Allison mulled over this. I had told her about what I was soon after finding it out myself and she had, thankfully, taken it in stride.

"Can you even control it yet?" Stiles objected.

"I can try," I grunted. "I have to."

"Okay, fine. Which one?" Allison looked up at me.

"Derek. Burn Derek. Preferably to death," Stiles offered, face serious.

"I'm not going to kill Derek," I hissed at him.

"Okay, fine. Then, burn any one of the four of them. You've got plenty of choices."

"You mean, three of them," Allison corrected, looking back out the window.

"No, I mean-" Stiles looked out again and faltered. "Where's Isaac?"

A hand was clamped over my mouth and someone grasped me by the waist. My screams were muffled, but Stiles and Allison heard, turning toward me frantically. I elbowed Isaac in the ribs, causing his grip to loosen and I broke out of his arms.

I tried to run to Allison, but Isaac grabbed my by the leg, causing me to fall to the ground. My head bounced against the floor as I hit the wood and I yelled out in pain. The world was fuzzy as I felt myself slide against the ground. Isaac continued to drag me across the floor, despite the way I clawed at the ground in a frenzied fashion.

He lifted me by the arms and slammed me against the wall. "I just wanted to talk," he growled. I saw his eyes flash golden as I struggled against him.

"Yeah because grabbing me is a perfect way to start a conversation," I spat, trying to push him off.

"Stop struggling," Isaac commanded. "You're making this more difficult than it needs to be."

"No," I argued. "Pretty sure that's you. Now let go of me."

Isaac held my arms tighter and I felt his claws dig into my skin. "Isaac, stop," I whimpered, the pain growing stronger as his eyes shifted color.

When he didn't stop, the back of my eyes burned as my own eyes changed and I started to fight against Isaac's hold.

"Let. Me. Go!" I yelled and suddenly, he fell to the ground, his hands clenching as they burned. My eyes widened and I backed up further against the wall, horrified as I watched him writhe in pain.

Smoke was starting to come out of his sweltering hands and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Stop," I commanded myself, tears gathering in my white eyes. "STOP!"

The burning in my eyes and in Isaac's hand stopped abruptly and I let out a shaky breath as I knelt to the ground beside him, clutching his burnt hands in mine. There were welts and they were red, some parts almost black. My lip trembled as I saw what I'd done.

"I'm sorry," I said, voice cracking in shame. "Oh, god, Isaac. I'm so sorry."

He lifted his head from its position on the floor and he looked at me sadly. "It's okay," he breathed out. "Not your fault. It's mine." His voice grew gradually weaker as he passed out, the pain becoming too much for him.

My hands trembled as they gripped his and I felt disgusted with myself. Deaton had said that this power was a gift, but all it did was make me a monster.

"Rina?" Scott entered the room and paused when he saw me clutching Isaac's burnt hands. "Oh, my god. What happened?"

"H-He was trying to-to talk to me, and I, oh god, Scott I did this," I stumbled over my words. "I-I hurt him so-so bad."

I felt Scott kneel next to me and he threw an arm around my shoulder, wincing as his arm brushed against the puncture wounds Isaac's claws had made.

"Shh," he cooed into the side of my head, unaware of my pain. "It's not your fault. Let's just get him out to Derek, alright?"

I nodded, almost imperceptibly, and Scott helped me up. I wrapped my trembling arms around myself as I watched my best friend lift Isaac over his shoulder and motion for me to follow him outside.

Once outside, Scott gently placed Isaac on the lawn and threw a paralyzed Erica near him. Allison and Stiles stepped onto the porch after us, both of them staring at Isaac's hands in shock. I quickly turned my head as their eyes turned to me. I couldn't do it. I couldn't face anyone after what I did.

"I think I get why you keep refusing me, Scott," Derek called out, not yet noticing the damage I'd caused to his beta. "You're already an Alpha. Of your own pack. But you can't beat me," Derek grinned at us.

"Yeah, sure. But I can hold you off until the cops get here," Scott declared as sirens sounded in the distance. That quickly wiped the smile off of Derek's face. If I weren't so traumatized, I would've smirked.

There was the sound of something climbing on the roof above us and I followed Stiles and Allison out onto the lawn and looked upwards to the roof. The kanima hissed at us from its position and fear crept up my spine at the sound. I turned to Derek, who was surprised and almost guilty when Lydia came running out of the house.

"Can someone please tell me _what the hell_ is going on?" she hysterically asked. Stiles and Scott shared a look and I tightened my arms around myself.

"It's Jackson," I heard my broken voice say.

* * *

**AN: _You got some Zarisaac/Izaric (yeah? no? idk) and some Stirina/Ziles (i suck at ship names lets be honest) in this chapter.  
_**

**_Like always, I want to thank all the people who've favorited, followed, or reviewed this story so far. All of those bring huge giant smiles onto my face. Like, earlier today I checked my email during school and I started dancing in my seat because I saw all the beautiful reviews and favorites. My teacher wasn't as amused as I was, but y'know. I was happy and that was thanks to you guys so thank you, loves!_**

_**Please review or favorite if you enjoyed this chapter. Been working hard to keep the writing up and it's been quite a bit of fun!**_

_**xx.**_


	6. Six

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW or it's characters. All that good stuff.**

* * *

I sat quietly in the back of Allison's car, watching as she drove and Lydia was anxiously looking out the window. The two had to practically carry me into the car after Jackson turned into the kanima and ran off.

I hadn't talked since we were at Scott's house. My thoughts were plagued by the image of Isaac's burnt hands and I felt like I didn't even deserve to be alive. If I were capable of making someone go through that much suffering without a second thought, I was definitely some kind of cold-blooded monster.

Allison looked at me through his rearview mirror, but I barely even noticed. I was staring at my hands, contemplating burning them like I'd done to Isaac's just to feel some type of balance. Suddenly, I realized just how tired I was. I was tired of the supernatural. I was tired of the werewolves and the constant near-death experiences and I was definitely tired of being an Oracle. I just wanted to be Zarina again. I didn't want some type of almighty out of this world power. I just wanted to go back to the way things were.

I mentally berated myself for thinking this way. In the rational part of my mind, I knew that the minute I'd gone to the Preserve with Scott and Stiles looking for a dead body, that I'd be bound to this lifestyle. And now that I was practically neck deep in it, I had to help Scott in any way possible because that's what best friends do. I'd be there for him like he promised he'd be there for me, I promised myself.

The car came to a rolling stop in front of Lydia's house and Allison turned to her as she opened the car door.

"See you tomorrow?" she asked lightly.

"Yeah, sure," Lydia said. Her voice was much less confident than usual and I realized that I made such a big deal out of my own problems that I forgot about hers. She'd just seen her boyfriend turn into a homicidal lizard, for god's sake.

"Wait, Lydia," I called out before she could close the door. Her head peeked into the car again. "I'm sorry about today. I hope you feel better soon."

She gave me a tight-lipped smile and slammed the car door shut. The car stayed parked as Allison made sure she got inside. When the car was back in motion, the silence returned and I shifted uncomfortably.

"You do know that what happened with Isaac wasn't your fault," Allison's voice surprised me. I pursed my lips and looked back at her through her mirror.

"But it really was," I replied bitterly. "I couldn't stop myself in time."

She sighed and adjusted her hands on the steering wheel. "You have a really bad habit of putting all the blame on yourself, you know that right?You can't expect to be able to control your powers just like that. It takes time, Zarina."

I soaked in her words. She had a point, that was for sure. But that didn't make me feel any less guilty for the pain I caused. No more words were exchanged as we continued the drive to my house and when we arrived, I sat in the car for a second.

"Thank you," I told her. "For everything."

Allison turned to me in the space between the seats and smiled at me, dimples and all. "Any time. I'll see you soon, okay?"

I nodded and exited the car, walking up to my front porch. I gave her one last wave before unlocking the door and stepping into my dark house. After locking the door, I walked into the kitchen and wasn't surprised when there was a note on the table.

**Late shift. Dinner's in the fridge. Love you. –Alex**

"Of course," I muttered. I went straight upstairs, not feeling particularly hungry. I entered my room, ready to jump into bed, but screamed when I saw a figure on my bed.

"Whoa," they said in surprise. "It's okay! It's just me!"

I flicked on the lights and saw Isaac two feet in front of me, unburned hands held out in front of him defensively. I sighed in relief and he slowly lowered his hands, sitting back down on my bed.

"You healed," my voice was small as I walked up to him and flipped his hands over in mine. They were back to normal, the skin clear and pale, as if he'd never been hurt in the first place.

"Yeah," he grinned and he lifted his head, looking up at me. I looked up from his hands and met his eyes, head bowed. "Perks of being a werewolf, you know?"

I felt the edges of my lips tilt upwards and I continued to run my thumbs over the back of his hands. "I'm sorry," I apologized after a second. "That must've hurt so much."

He shrugged. "Eh, nothing I haven't dealt with before." I flinched at his statement, remembering his father, and he quickly fixed himself. "I mean, it wasn't as bad as you'd think. So don't apologize."

"I have to apologize," I licked my lips, "If I don't, I'll feel like you hate me, but you've already made it clear that you do, so I guess I didn't want to make it worse."

Isaac's hand gripped mine and he looked remorseful. "I didn't mean what I said," he admitted softly. "To you or to Stiles. Everything I said was a mistake. Which is kinda why I needed to talk to you at Scott's house, but I guess that didn't work out, huh?"

My eyes lifted and when I saw his cheeky grin, I rolled my eyes, amused.

"Yeah, no. Not really," I joked. "Next time you talk to a girl, don't grab her like you're going to kidnap her."

"Duly noted," he said, grin in place. "Are we okay? Friends?"

"I don't know," I said teasingly. "If you're okay with being friends with a monster who can burn you from the inside out."

All traces of playfulness was erased when he stood up abruptly and looked down at me. When I finally realized the height difference, I cursed my genes for only allowing me to grow to a measly 5'1. Isaac grabbed me by the waist and pulled me flush against his body, his head resting on the crook of my neck.

"You're not a monster," I felt his lips move against my skin and I shuddered as I snaked my arms around his torso. "You're too beautiful to be a monster."

I felt my face burn at his words and I chewed my lip. "Don't say that," I whispered. "You're making me feel worse for hurting you."

"It's the truth, besides, have you seen me? If anything, I'm the monster," he didn't hesitate, I noticed. "Now, stop feeling guilty. Not everything's your fault. I'm sure everyone's told you this by now, but you should start listening to them."

"Then why does it always feel like it is my fault?" I rested my chin on his shoulder.

I felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. "I think that's just you. When something you have no power over happens, you automatically think it's your fault. That's not healthy, Ari."

I smiled at the new nickname, but noted that he was right, yet again. When Scott got bit, I blamed myself for not being there to help him. When Peter bit Lydia, I felt guilty that I wasn't there to prevent her from going through what I had. And then, when I burnt Isaac with powers I had absolutely no control over, I felt like the most disgusting person on the planet. All of those things, I couldn't influence, yet I beat myself up for it and it wasn't helping anyone, especially myself.

Isaac pulled away, but kept his arms around my waist, observing my expression. "You know I'm right," I felt his breath fan against my face, just like in the hallway.

"Yeah, yeah," I smiled lightly, feeling the guilt fade away slowly. "And I hate that you are, by the way."

"Whatever you say," he replied. "I should go. Derek doesn't know I'm out."

I felt my face fall, but caught it before it was too noticeable. I nodded slowly, not really eager for him to leave my presence so soon.

He grinned at me and his face inched closer to mine. I felt my breathing hitch as he pecked my cheek. I quickly pushed away the feeling of disappointment that filled me because he didn't actually kiss me and averted my eyes. When he pulled away, a cocky smirk was on his face, but this one, I didn't hate quite as much.

"I knew it," he looked at me knowingly.

"Knew what?" I asked breathlessly, mind reeling.

"You dig me," he winked and I pulled myself out of his arms, smacking his chest.

"I do _not_," I protested, face growing red. I did my best to distance myself from him.

"Sure," he said slowly, smirk widening. "Say that to your red face and your extremely fast heartbeat."

"That's cheating," I accused indignantly. "You can't pull that werewolf shit on me!"

Isaac tipped his head back and laughed, like a real laugh. I took a second to relish in the noise before joining him, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. As our fits of laughter died, he glanced at the watch on his hand and cursed under his breath.

"Sorry, I need to head out," he bit his lip. "You going to school tomorrow?"

I smiled at him and pushed him towards the window. "Mhm," I hummed. "Now go before Derek kills you."

Isaac slid open my window and winked at me one more time before climbing down the tree and racing down the street. I stared at his leather clad back, which was becoming a small dot as he ran further from my house.

I closed the window, unable to keep the wide smile off my face. However, it fell off my face when my phone vibrated and I read the text on my screen from Stiles.

_Danny was paralyzed (he's okay btw). Also caught Jackson. We're taking care of him now. Come visit tomorrow after school._

And just like that, my euphoria had dissipated and all my problems from before came crashing down onto my shoulders at once.

* * *

I felt my eyebrows raise higher up my forehead as I walked through the school's halls. Each corner had a security camera and I almost scoffed at how paranoid Gerard was being. Though a part of me was genuinely curious as to why he'd bother to take such a huge precaution.

I caught Isaac's eye on my way to my classroom. Erica was in front of him, talking about something quietly, but he took a second to send me a sly wink before turning back to her, his grin slightly wider than before. I ducked my head to hide my smile and I continued on.

The grin was still adorning my face as I took my seat behind Allison, who turned back to me suspiciously.

"Not that it's a bad thing, but what's got you all smiley?" she raised an eyebrow.

I bit my lip to stifle the smile and shrugged at my friend. "Guess I just feel better than yesterday," I lied.

She seemed to accept this answer and she turned back around in her seat. Scott arrived and sat diagonally from Allison, who tried to move seats to sit next to him, but another girl took it before she could.

"I'm afraid your teacher was feeling ill and had to leave early, so unfortunately, you're stuck with me as substitute," Mrs. Argent announced. Her smile sent shivers up my spine as she looked around the classroom.

I sighed and sunk down into my seat. This was going to be a very long class period.

* * *

I was right. The class period was extremely long and sufficiently awkward. It took literally all my strength not to sprint out of there as soon as the bell rang.

The rest of the day went by without a problem, save for the new cameras, which really freaked me out. I wouldn't have been surprised if there were hidden cameras in the girl's bathroom, but when I told Scott this idea, he flicked me in the forehead and walked away, mumbling something about how weird I was.

Allison and I found Stiles standing near a police van after school and we walked up to him hurriedly.

"They know," I said, causing my hyperactive friend to jump.

"What?" he questioned.

"They know Jackson is missing," Allison answered, distraught. Stiles looked at the phone, then back at us before getting into the van. Allison and I shared a look before following him inside.

"Where are we going?" I called out over the rev of the engine.

"Somewhere very far away from here," Stiles replied, dialing on Jackson's phone and throwing it out the window of the speeding van.

My eyes widened, but I chose to stay quiet, trusting Stiles' judgment on the matter at hand.

* * *

"If Jackson doesn't remember being the kanima, he definitely won't remember stealing Danny's tablet," Scott said, walking with us as we distanced ourselves from the van.

"Why would he steal the thing if he doesn't even know what's on it?" Stiles asked, his head rolling back.

"What if someone else took it?" I suggested.

"Then somebody else took it," Allison said, arms akimbo.

"Which means someone could be protecting him," Scott interjected.

"The bestiary says that the kanima seeks a friend," Allison explained to her boyfriend. I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. We were going in circles.

"So someone watched Jackson tape himself on the full moon, then deleted the scenes so he wouldn't know it?" Stiles commented. "I mean, who would do that?"

"Someone who wanted to protect him?" I repeated Scott's words from before, shrugging.

"Wait there's something else. You said that the kanima only goes after murderers. What if that's actually true?" Scott looked at Stiles and Allison.

"That's not true. It tried to kill us. Multiple times, actually," I sounded slightly cynical as I continued. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't murdered anyone lately."

"No, no. I don't think it was trying to kill us," he disagreed with me and turned to the huntress. "Remember when we were at Isaac's? It went right by us, didn't it?" She nodded. "And it didn't kill Stiles at the mechanic's shop."

"Yeah, but it tried to kill us at the pool," Stiles interjected.

"Did it?" he replied skeptically.

"It trapped us in the pool. It would have if we'd gotten out."

"What if it was trying to keep you in?" Scott asked as it dawned on him. Stiles gaped at our friend.

"Why do I feel so violated all of a sudden?" I snorted at Stiles' words and he rolled his eyes, though he shivered in distaste.

"Because there's something else going on, but we don't know what it is," Scott shrugged. "We don't know what's going on with Jackson or why someone's protecting-"

"Know thy enemy," we heard Allison mutter. We faced her and I raised an eyebrow.

"I got it," I said, breaking the silence. "Kill Jackson. Problem solved."

"We aren't killing Jackson," Scott gaped at me. "He risked his life for us. Against Peter."

I shuddered at the mention of Peter and Stiles looked at me sympathetically. I rubbed my shoulder subconsciously, the pain of the bite still fresh in my mind.

"He still got the bite from Derek," Stiles' hands moved as he talked.

"Don't know why he'd want it," I added resentfully.

"It doesn't mean he's not still worth saving," Scott argued and Stiles and I deflated, done with trying to push our idea onto him.

"There's gotta be something with him," Stiles sighed and I nodded lightly.

"He doesn't know what he's doing!" Scott was quick to retort.

"So what?" Stiles shot back.

"I didn't either, when I was in his position," he sounded tired, exasperated. I knew how he felt. "He has no one."

"That's his own fault," Stiles scoffed and I had to agree with him, too.

"Doesn't matter. We should still try." Scott look at us determinedly and I blew out a breath of air. There goes my idea.

* * *

I sat alone in Stiles' jeep, staring at the police van where Jackson was currently being held in. Allison and Scott were in her car and I didn't dare think about what they were doing. That in itself disgusted me.

I was slightly pissed off that Stiles left me alone in a car to check on Lydia. Sure, leave your best friend alone to handle a giant lizard creature if it decided to go on a killing spree to check on some girl you're in love with. No biggie. I sighed and pulled out my phone as it buzzed. An unknown number flashed on the screen and I unlocked my phone.

_Got your number. Hope you don't mind ;) –I_

I shook my head, smiling. I ignored the creepiness of the fact that he'd somehow found my number and chose to text him back.

_I totally mind. What an invasion of privacy. How did you even get it?_

My finger lingered over the send button, but I pressed it quickly and locked my phone, eyes still locked on the metal van in front of me. My phone buzzed after what seemed like seconds and I unlocked it again.

_I have my ways. Would've asked you myself, but it seemed cheesy._

I was about to respond when someone knocked on my window, scaring me half to death. Stiles was on the other side, looking grim. I stepped out of the car and followed him to the van.

"You might want to look at this," he said and motioned to the van's back doors, which were wide open. I frantically swiveled my head back and forth, but to no avail. Jackson was long gone.

"I have to tell my father," Allison said as she observed the empty space. Scott moved to walk away from us. "Scott, he's going to kill people." Her voice stopped him.

"Okay, tell him," Scott conceded. "Tell him everything."

"My brother needs to know," I said hesitantly and Stiles nodded behind me, piping up with a small 'and my dad, too'.

"This is all my fault," Scott groaned, defeated.

"It's not," Allison soothed him.

"We have to tell them. We're just a bunch of teenagers, we can't handle this," Stiles admitted, a hand brushing through his short hair.

"How are you going to make them believe this?" Allison asked the two of us.

"I mean, I could try to show my brot-" I tried to say, but Scott cut me off.

"They'll believe me," Scott's eyes flashed golden and I watched him in concern as he turned away from us.

* * *

We decided to tell Sheriff Stilinski first. Stiles knocked on the door and the people at the front desk looked up at us.

"Can you buzz us in? I need to talk to my dad," he asked loudly through the door.

A buzzing noise sounded and Stiles' hand froze on the handle as he looked back at is, fear apparent in his eyes. We both gave him a reassuring nod and he breathed out, walking into the office. Jackson was sitting on the couch, a smirk adorning his face. I looked at him, confused, but then Sheriff Stilinski came up to us, voice slightly forced.

"Scott, Stiles," he said. "Perfect timing. Meet Mr. Whittemore, esquire." He motioned to a man standing near the window.

"That means lawyer," Jackson piped up smugly from his seat on the couch. The three of us looked at each other, dread filling the air. Well, this couldn't be good.

* * *

**AN: ****_I was eating girl scout cookies while writing this. Which may be a good explanation for as to why there were so many fluffy Zarisaac moments lolol. Sorry for the lack of Zarina Oracle awesomeness, but it's actually quite difficult to fit it in, 'specially since not many things happen in this chapter (apologies for that). Next chapter though, expect her to go all bad-ass because things hit the fannnnn._**

**_Thanks for all the reviews and follows and favorites! Ya'll are toooo sweet. Like you got me blushing reading all your reviews. Makes me go all sadfghjkl;._**

**_Please review or fave if you liked this chapter! Also, feel free to tell me your reactions and things you'd like to see in the future. I'm totally open to those kinds of things. _**

**_xx._**


	7. Seven

**Disclaimer: Do not own TW. Wish I did, blah, blah, blah. Etc.**

* * *

"If Jackson doesn't know what he's doing, then he probably doesn't know someone's controlling him," Allison's voice sounded over the speaker. The three of us were waiting in the police office for Mr. Whittemore to call us inside for whatever it was he wanted.

"Or he doesn't remember," Scott suggested, setting his hands on the desk he was sitting behind.

"What if it's like what happened to Lydia when she ran off from the hospital?" I wondered aloud. "They called it a fugue state, I think."

"He'd have to forget everything," Allison said to me and I could almost see her thoughtful expression.

"The murder, washing off the blood," Stiles explained. "He did have help with one thing, though. The video. Someone else helped him forget that."

We looked at each other and his hazel ones held an acute sharpness to them that they always did when he thought. I pursed my lips and gave him a small nod.

"Whoever's controlling him," Scott piped in.

"Are you sure Jackson has no clue about any of this?" she sounded skeptical.

"He still thinks he's going all werewolf and him being with Lydia was what caused the lack of," I paused, trying to think of a word, "wolfiness."

I heard Stiles snort at me, but Allison continued on.

"So do we try to convince him he's not?" she asked.

"Yeah," Scott was nodding, "If it helps us find out who's controlling him."

"Can't you just try and predict it, or whatever it is you do?" Stiles was looking at me.

"Totally, Stiles. Because I'm super great at controlling that at the moment," I blanched and he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Right, sorry. I forgot," he sent me a tiny smile and I laughed.

The door opened after this and Sheriff Stilinski was standing at the door. The boys went out the door and I followed, not caring if it didn't involve me.

"You will not go within fifty feet of Jackson Whittemore. You will not speak to him. You will not approach him. You will not assault him, physically or psychologically," the Sheriff read from his clipboard.

He set the board on the metal table and looked at the boys. They looked guilty and I bit my lip, anxious.

"What about school?" Stiles asked, raising his hand.

"You can attend classes while maintaining a fifty foot distance," his voice was hard.

"Okay, well what if we both have to use the bathroom at the same time," Stiles began and I slapped my palm to my forehead as the adults in the room sighed. "And there' only to stalls next to each other."

His hands were waving around, probably trying to mimic the situation in the air. Scott and I turned to our friend, glaring at him. The sheriff's jaw ticked and Stiles looked around the room.

"I'll just hold it," he mumbled, hands dropping.

We were all dismissed and Stiles' dad dragged him out into the hall by his arm. His mom pulled Scott away in a separate direction and I stood in the middle of the hall stupidly.

"Zarina," I heard my brother say from the end of the hall and I jumped.

"Oh, hey, Alex," I started, laughing nervously. "How are you doing?"

He walked up to my briskly and I cowered underneath his stare. "Pretty bad, thanks for asking," he sneered. "Do you know how worried I was when I got a call that my sister was in the police office with her friends, getting a restraining order?"

"Actually, it was only Scott and Stiles who got a restraining order," I corrected. "I was just there."

"Exactly!" he burst out. "It's always Scott and Stiles with you. Every time you're with them, you get into some sort of trouble."

"It's not their fault!" I defended quickly, crossing my arms.

"Then whose fault is it? Huh?" he stared at me, waiting and I faltered. I couldn't tell him now. This wasn't the right environment. He wouldn't believe me.

"That's what I thought," Alex said, not giving me a chance to answer. "Actually, you know what? I don't want you hanging out with them anymore and that's final."

"What? No! You can't do that!" I hissed.

"I can and I will," he replied curtly. "They're bad influences, Zarina. You won't get anywhere in life if you keep getting into trouble like this."

"Mom and dad would've understood. They would've let me talk to them instead of punishing me right off the bat," I grumbled, eyes falling to the floor.

"Well I'm not mom and dad," he said through clenched teeth. "Let's just go home. We've wasted enough time."

Alex put his hand on my back and pushed me to the front door of the office. He stopped for a second and walked up to Sheriff Stilinski.

"I'm so sorry," he started, looking at the sheriff, and I saw Scott looking at me sympathetically. He must've heard the whole argument. I shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile.

Soon, Alex's hand was pushing me out the front door and towards the car. We got in and as he drove, I could feel the anger coming off him in waves. I knew it'd take a while for him to cool down, so I chose not to apologize, or at least not yet. I took at glance at him and saw that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were glued to the road. I slumped in my seat and looked out the window, watching the scenery race by.

* * *

I looked around the library subtly for Allison. She had Lydia translate the bestiary and she had it on her tablet to show us. I found her standing in the third aisle just as she passed the tablet over to Scott, who was standing on the other side of the shelf.

I almost moved away from them, remembering what my brother had said. By doing this, I was blatantly disobeying his orders, but honestly, the problem at hand was more important than some stupid punishment, so I walked up to Allison, sending her a smile as greeting.

"That's everything Lydia can translate and trust me, she's very confused," Allison told us as I stood next to her.

"What'd you tell her?" Scott asked, looking up from the screen.

"That we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." I laughed into my hand.

"I _am_ part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures," Stiles said seriously and I bit my lip to stop smiling.

"And you wonder why you're single," I teased.

"Whatever," he huffed, eyes narrowing at me.

"Does it say how to find out who's controlling it?" Scott probed.

"Not really, but it talks about what Stiles said about the murderers," Allison reported.

"Yes!" Stiles fist pumped in victory.

"It calls the kanima a weapon of vengeance," Allison said.

"Isn't there a story that talks about a priest that uses it to execute murderers in his village?" I looked through the hole in the bookshelf at the tablet in Scott's hands.

"Maybe it's not all that bad," Stiles said hopefully.

"Until the bond became so strong that it killed whoever he wanted it to," I read off the screen.

"All bad, all very very bad," Stiles gaped and rubbed a hand over his face.

"The kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf, but it can't until-" she stopped before she could finish as someone walked down the aisle.

"Until it clears it's past," Scott finished when the person walked away.

"If that means Jackson needs a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself," Stiles commented.

"What if it has something to do with his parents?" Allison offered.

"His real parents," I clarified.

"Does anyone know what actually happened to them?" Scott tilted his head.

"Lydia might," I shrugged.

"And if she doesn't?"

"Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me, so I'll talk to him myself," Allison put in, looking towards me.

"What do I do?" Scott wondered aloud.

"You have a makeup exam," I told him and he groaned, but Stiles nodded in agreement.

"Promise me," Allison said and stuck her hand through the hole. The two of them joined hands, making a silent promise to each other and Scott made her promise to get away from Jackson if he tried anything.

"Like?" Allison pulled her hand from the shelf.

"Anything weird, bizarre-" Stiles cut him off as he stuck his head through the hole, looking at the two of us.

"Anything evil," he whispered. I scoffed and pushed his head back through the hole.

We all split up after our conversation. Allison went to find Jackson, Scott went to take his test, and Stiles would try talking to Lydia, leaving me with nothing to do.

* * *

I sat in the empty hallway, sketchbook set on my lap. The page was currently empty as I tried to find inspiration to draw something. Anything. The prospect of drawing wasn't as great as it was before, probably due to the fact that most of my drawings were predictions of all the bad things that were going to happen to us.

I leaned my head against the lockers behind me and closed my eyes. My mother used to tell me that drawing was a way to let yourself fill a page without worrying about anyone else understanding what it meant. She's what made art so beautiful to me. The way she'd look so free as she painted made me stick around and watch her for hours, content with the fact that all the worries seemed to erase from her mind.

A pang of nostalgia hit and I quickly closed the sketchbook, unable to look at the blank page any longer. Someone sat next to me and I felt their arm brush mine. I turned my head and raised my eyebrow at Isaac, who grinned.

"Are you stalking me now?" I asked him.

"Depends on how you define stalking," he shrugged.

"Well," I pretended to think. "Sitting in a girl's empty bedroom at night, somehow getting her number from someone who's not her and then not telling her how he got it, and mysteriously finding her in an empty hallway kind of sounds like stalking. Don't you think?"

"Definitely not," he defended himself. "I had very good intentions."

"I'm sure you did," I tilted my head teasingly. "But that doesn't make it any less stalkerish than it actually is."

He shook his head and nudged my shoulder with his. Then his blue eyes shifted to my sketchbook.

"You drawing?" he asked. I looked down at the book on my lap and shrugged.

"Trying to, at least," I replied, frustrated. "I can't find any motivation to draw. Every time I put a pencil to a paper with the intentions of drawing, I feel like I'm going to have one of my Oracle episodes and create something completely insane."

"You know, you never really did explain to me what you are," he hummed. I looked at him and pursed my lips.

"It's a long story," I said simply. "Extremely long and complicated."

"What isn't nowadays?" he joked halfheartedly, but there was truth behind his words.

I laughed bitterly. "Pretty much nothing is simple anymore," I replied. "Do you ever regret it? Taking the bite?"

Isaac bit his lip, "No, not really. I feel like if I start regretting it, it'll make everything worse for myself. I try to stay as positive as possible."

"Think you could teach me that?" I glanced at him and smiled. He chuckled.

"I don't know," he said slowly, voice reaching a higher octave than usual. "You don't seem like the positive type. This could be difficult."

I gasped over dramatically and smacked his arm. "So rude," I mumbled.

"Aw," he pinched my cheek. "You know I was just-"

He was interrupted by a loud bang from around the corner and Isaac shared a look with me before I took off, running through the halls. I saw Scott on the floor, Jackson towering over him. I ran towards Scott as Erica flung Jackson onto the wall. Stiles and I pulled Scott away from him, but he tried to fight out of our grip.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Harris walked down the stairs, fuming. I let go of Scott, but stayed nearby. Matt arrived, holding Allison's tablet and I looked at him in shock.

"You and you," Harris pointed at Jackson and Scott, but changed his mind. "Actually, all of you. Detention, after school." I ran a hand through my hair and blew a breath out of my mouth. My brother was going to murder me.

* * *

I trudged into the library at three sharp and sat down next to Erica and across from Stiles. I held back a groan as Jackson spoke.

"I can't be near these tools. I have a restraining order," he said.

"Against all of these tools?" Harris raised a brow.

"No, just us tools," Stiles moved his finger to motion towards himself and Scott.

"Fine, you two, over there," Harris pointed to a table at the other end of the room and I gave them a pleading look as they left, not really excited to be spending time with Erica alone.

Thankfully, the first few minutes were silent, until Jackson got up suddenly, demanding that he be let out. Harris argued for a second before realizing that Jackson was having a medical emergency and left with him to go somewhere to get him checked out.

"You miss your two little friends already?" she cooed mockingly when the door shut. It hadn't even been three seconds and I wanted to rip her throat out. Still, I ignored her, keeping my hard gaze on the wall adjacent to me.

"You know, Isaac's been going on and on about you lately," she continued and I clenched my jaw. "Though, I'm not sure why he'd want you when I'm completely open to being with him."

"Maybe it's because I have some self respect," I suggested, sending her a blazing look.

"Believe me," Erica seethed. "I have plenty of self respect."

"Is that what you call it? I'd call it prostitution," I remarked, referring to her new revealing clothing.

I felt her claws dig in to my thigh suddenly and I sucked in a harsh breath to stifle my yelp of pain.

"You think you're so good because you haven't been a social outcast before," she hissed into my ear. "You don't know what it's like to feel lonely. To feel like you're worth nothing. What I am now is a product of everything people like you have put me through."

I felt my eyes burn, but I squeezed them shut, trying to control it. "Erica, let go of my leg," I commanded forcefully. "Now."

"I don't think I will," she squeezed harder and my eyes burned more.

I opened my eyes and turned to her, eyes already white based on the intense pain. "I said," I growled quietly. "Let go."

Her eyes widened and she released her grip, the pain receding as her hand moved away. I felt the blood seep into my pants, but I ignored it as I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. The burning stayed put, however and Erica was soon whimpering as she clutched her head in pain.

"Stop, please," she pleaded and I started to shake. "My head feels like it's on fire."

"I can't," my voice was strained as I tried to calm myself down, but nothing was working.

Stiles and Scott must've seen because they came rushing towards us. Stiles grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me towards him as Scott went to help Erica with her head.

"You need to calm down," Stiles told me softly. "Please, Z. You have to. You're hurting her."

"It won't stop," I whimpered as I heard her skin sizzle behind me. "I don't know how to make it stop."

He thought for a moment before pulling me into his arms, squeezing me. I stood and threw my arms around his neck, closing my eyes tightly as I felt myself calm down in his warmth.

"It's okay," he whispered into my hair. "Just breathe. You're fine. It'll be alright."

I nodded against his chest and my eyes fluttered open as the pain ceased. I pulled away from him and let my eyes wander around his relieved face.

"How did you do that?" I asked in awe and he smiled at me.

"You always did like my hugs," he joked and I laughed lightly at him.

We parted and I turned to Erica slowly. Her and Scott were sitting there, her face relaxing as the pain ceased. I lowered my eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry," I croaked. "I would've stopped but that was so much harder to control than before and-"

"Don't bother," Erica hissed. "Just, don't."

I looked at Stiles one more time and he pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly, telling me not to say anything else. I sighed and sat back down, scooting my chair away from her slightly, giving her some space.

The boys sat in the seats in front of us and immediately began to interrogate Erica about Jackson's parents. I listened, but didn't dare say anything in fears of angering the girl next to me. She opened her laptop after a few minutes and showed them something else about what had happened to Jackson.

Harris stalked back into the room and zipped up his bag. We made to leave, but he merely slung his bag over his shoulder and gave us all a cynical smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm leaving. You all have to stay until these books are put back," he announced. "Enjoy your evening."

I watched in irritation as he left the library and I fell back into my seat, feeling completely and utterly drained.

* * *

"So basically it means that he was born after his mom died. By c-section," Stiles told Allison as we stacked books.

"They had to pull him out of her dead body," I said, voice small. Allison grimaced beside me.

"So was it an accident or not?" she asked.

"The report is inconclusive," he shrugged and I shifted the books in my arms.

"But his parents could've been murdered?" Scott questioned.

"Well, if they were it falls in line with the whole kanima thing," I nodded.

"But for Jackson or the person controlling him?" Allison piped up.

"We have to talk to him, we have to tell him," Scott decided, walking away from us.

"He's not going to listen," Allison tried to stop him, but he was already gone.

The lights flickered above our heads and I slowly looked up. Something barreled from one shelf to the other and the whole scene seemed completely familiar to me. A roar resounded against the walls and glass shattered around us. Stiles pushed me to the floor, covering my body with his as the glass showered over us. From the ground, I looked around frantically, watching as Scott ran back inside the library.

The kanima dropped in front of him and hissed. Stiles' body stayed put as debris fell from the shaking room. The bookcases began to fall as well and I stumbled onto my feet, pulling Stiles with me as we tried to avoid them.

We passed by a chalkboard, which the kanima was standing in front of, writing on it. When it finished its message, it jumped out of the broken window, leaving us alone. I froze in my spot and my breathing turned harsh as I read what the kanima had written.

**Stay out of my way or I'll kill you all.**

"Oh my god," I said repeatedly under my breath and Stiles pulled me into his arms, thinking I was panicking.

"It's okay, I won't let it hurt you," he assured me, but I shook my head frantically and pulled away from him.

"N-No!" I yelled. "You don't understand. I predicted this. I wrote this exact message on my mirror. I knew this was going to happen."

Tears were coming down my face as realization flooded his features. If this didn't confirm my Oracle powers, I didn't know what did.

"I think she's having a seizure!" Scott called from his spot by a seizing Erica. Allison was somewhere nearby, checking on Matt, who'd gotten hurt during the attack. Stiles immediately went to Scott's side, but my feet were glued to the floor as I stared at the chalkboard in terror. I felt like I couldn't breathe as my eyes skimmed over the words.

"Zarina, we have to take her to Derek! Let's go!" Stiles called from the door.

I blinked, taking myself out of my thoughts and went to him. Scott placed a kiss on Allison's head before picking up Erica and following us out the door. As we walked out of the school building, Stiles took my hand and held it comfortingly. I appreciated the gesture, but I knew that no amount of comfort would erase the anxiety that was slowly rising inside of me.

* * *

**AN:** **_Happy Valentine's Day, loves! Sorry this update is later than usual, but I spent the day with my mom and watched 'That Awkward Moment', which was really good btw. In honor of this love-themed day, I added some kinda fluffy Stirina scenes because why not? Stiles needs some lovin' too! Though, there was a tiny Zarisaac moment, tooo._**

**_Never really noticed but chocolate strawberries are like the key to my heart. My friend gave me some and I wanted to cry. I was much too happy about that, tbh. Anywaaays, hope ya'll had a great day today filled with love and chocolate._**

**_Thanks for the reviews, faves, and follows. As always, please try to continue all that good stuff if you enjoyed this chapter. Means more than anything else._**

**_xx._**


	8. Eight

**Disclaimer: I am not Jeff Davis. Therefore I do not own this amazing TV show. Carry on.**

* * *

"What happened to her?" Derek asked when we came into the train with Erica. Isaac was with him and he gave me a look when he saw my red eyes and smeared make-up. I saw his eyes drop to mine and Stiles' still intertwined hands and his expression hardened.

"The kanima," Scott said, placing Erica on the ground. Stiles and I knelt beside her body.

"Go," Derek told Isaac firmly. His beta didn't move, instead staying put, but Derek glared at him. I didn't want Isaac to watch this either. He didn't deserve to see his friend in so much pain. "Go!" the Alpha yelled.

I looked up at Isaac and gave him a tiny nod. His determined expression faltered and he sighed before leaving. I turned to him just before he went out the door and he looked over his shoulder at me.

"I'll go with him," I said, looking over at Scott and Stiles. Scott nodded, but Stiles gripped my hand tighter, almost protectively.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded and squeezed his hand. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Positive," I gave him a smile before slipping my hand out of his and following Isaac out of the train.

The two of us sat on the stairs and I saw that his expression was stone cold. Though his eyes held pain and hurt. I scooted closer to him and he buried his face in my neck as the screaming began. I felt him flinch and I wrapped my arm around his waist, rubbing his back softly. The screaming lasted for 20 minutes and when it finally died down to heavy breathing, the two of us were still in the same position.

"She's okay," I whispered to him, leaning my head against his. He nodded and let out a breath that tickled my neck, sending shocks down my spine.

"Derek's coming," I told him quietly and he lifted his head from my shoulder. I retracted my arm and he gave me a tiny smile of thanks. I returned it, glad to see some light come back into his blue eyes.

"You know who it is," Scott said as he and Derek left the train together.

"Jackson," Derek replied after taking a deep breath.

"You just wanted Erica to confirm it, didn't you?" Scott inquired and the look on Derek's face confirmed his suspicions. My friend looked at me momentarily before speaking again. "I'm going to help you stop him. As part of your pack."

Derek's eyes widened in surprise and I felt my own do the same. Beside me, Isaac leaned forward, interested in what Scott had to say.

"If you want me in, fine. But we'll do it on one condition. We're going to catch him. Not kill him," Scott concluded.

"And?" Derek prodded, looking completely frustrated.

"And we do it my way," he replied and Derek had no choice but to agree.

"Isaac, if you want, you can see her now," he turned to him and Isaac got up, walking into the train.

Scott told me he'd be back and went into the vehicle to get Stiles out. I stepped down from the stairs and caught Derek looking at me.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I'll tell you exactly what I told Isaac," I sighed. "It's a really long and complicated story. If you really want answers, you should ask Deaton. I'm not good with this Oracle stuff."

"Oracle?" Derek perked at the word and I chose not to reply, instead pursing my lips.

Stiles and Scott walked out soon afterwards and I followed them out the door. I chanced a glance behind me and stopped abruptly when I caught Isaac's gaze. I gave him a wave and smiled at him. He bowed his head and smirked as he leaned his upper body against the frame of the train's window.

"Z?" Stiles asked and I turned back to him and Scott, who were watching me suspiciously. "You coming?" His voice sounded hard and almost…angry? I shook the thought off and nodded, walking out of the abandoned station with them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Stiles asked, his eyes glancing away from the road to look at Scott as he drove. "I mean, it's Derek."

Scott nodded, "Yeah, I need help Stiles. I can't do this by myself."

"You're not by yourself, Scotty," I leaned forward so my face was in the space between the partition. "You have us, right Sti?"

"Right," he agreed quickly, though I felt like he was irritated at me for some reason. I internally sighed.

The car came to a stop in front of my house and the boys exited the car so I could get out. I hopped out and stretched my aching legs.

"You going to be okay?" Scott asked and I turned to him. "I mean, I saw what happened with you today at the library. You seemed, really shaken."

I nodded and pursed my lips. "I'll be fine. Everything's just weird right now. But I'll be okay."

We exchanged smiles and I hugged him tightly. I pulled away and hugged Stiles next, surprising him. His arms flailed around for a second before settling around my waist.

"Sorry for whatever I did," I mumbled to him. "But thanks for everything today. It means a lot."

I pulled back before he could respond and walked up the cement path to my house and onto my porch. I waved at them before unlocking the door and entering my home.

"I saw that," Alex's voice came from the window beside the door and I jumped. His arms were crossed and he looked annoyed. "You hung out with them right after I specifically told you not to."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "They're my best friends, Alex! And plus I needed a ride home."

"You could've called me."

"I thought you had work."

"I would've left."

"No you wouldn't have. You know it."

My cold voice caused him to waver. He knew I was right. I shook my head and went up to my room without another word. I was done.

When I entered my room, I threw myself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. I felt stressed and tired. The day was really getting to me.

Suddenly, my vision began to fade away as the room in front of me shifted.

_Lights flashed around me as I stood in the midst of the sweaty bodies of the dancing people that occupied the building. My head swiveled from side to side and I caught a flash of scaly skin blurring past me. I quickly followed the blur, pushing and elbowing my way through people._

_I didn't know where the kanima had gone, but I knew it was nearby. Then I heard a loud scream. I whipped around and ran towards the source to find the kanima on top of a body, arm reeled back. My eyes widened at the scene and the kanima turned its head towards me. It seemed as if it had a giant smirk on its face and I felt my heart race faster._

_"We're here," the kanima said in a gravelly voice before bringing its claws down, scratching the body in the chest deeply. Blood was splattered everywhere and I fell to my knees, legs turning to jelly._

I gasped as my eyes returned to normal and adjusted back to the real world. I was sitting at my canvas, as usual, and charcoal stained my hands. The drawing in front of me was of a large party – a rave, more specifically – just like the one in my vision. My heart stopped when I saw the kanima I'd drawn standing murderously in the exact middle of the rave.

"Of course," I muttered, going to the bathroom to wash the charcoal off my hands.

* * *

The next morning, I made sure my brother was out of the house before running out the door and into the back seat of Stiles' jeep. I had to climb over Scott, but I didn't want to risk getting caught again.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?" Stiles asked as I urged him to drive away as soon as I buckled my seatbelt.

I explained to him how my brother told me to stay away from them at the police station and how I'd gotten caught leaving his car the day previous. Scott, already knowing what'd happened, didn't pay much attention to me. Stiles, however, after multiple curses towards my brother, lapsed into a brooding silence.

"Oh yeah, I know where the kanima's going to strike next," I remembered.

Scott turned towards me and Stiles gaped as he drove.

"What?" Scott asked. "You drew something?"

I hummed in confirmation and pulled out the drawing I'd stuffed in my backpack, showing it to them.

Stiles parked in the parking lot of the school and observed my drawing with Scott.

"It looks like a…" Stiles began.

"Like a rave," I finished for him and pointed to the kanima I'd drawn in the middle. "It's going to be there and it's going to kill someone. We need to find out when and where it is."

"I think I heard Allison talking about a rave going on this weekend," Scott proposed. "Maybe that's the one?"

"Yeah, it probably is," I agreed. "I think I heard of that too, now that you mention it. Don't you need tickets to get inside?"

The three of us sighed and racked our brains for ways to get in.

"There's gotta be some way to get tickets, right?" Stiles asked, getting out of the car. Scott and I followed him out and we began walking towards school.

"It's a secret show, there's only one way. And it's a secret," Scott groaned, looking down at the drawing in his hand.

"We'll figure this out," I assured them, though I wasn't so sure of it myself.

"Hey!" the three of us turned and Matt walked up to us. "Anyone know why no one's getting suspended after what happened the other day at school?"

"Just forget about it. No one got hurt," Stiles replied, his hand sliding up his backpack strap. Scott hurriedly shoved the paper into my bag.

"I had a concussion."

"Oh, then nobody got _seriously_ hurt," Stiles corrected himself.

"I was in the ER. For six hours," Matt stared at Stiles in disbelief and he simply rolled his head back, annoyed.

"Okay, you wanna know the truth Matt?" Stiles started. "Your little bump on the head is about-" he crouched down and raised his hand about an inch from the pavement, "-this high on our list of problems right now."

I grabbed Stiles' shoulder and yanked him upwards and Scott moved closer to Matt to talk to him.

"So are you okay?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I noticed you didn't get any tickets last night," Matt said and I glanced around the parking lot.

"Are they still selling?" I asked him, hopeful.

"Uh, no," Matt looked at me sheepishly. "But I found two online. You should keep trying, I hear everyone's gonna be there." That was all he said before waving at us and walking off.

"Everyone's definitely gonna be there alright," I said under my breath, mind going back to the giant lizard we had to deal with before it killed someone.

"Shh," Stiles nudged me. "Like you said, we'll find a way and we'll stop it from happening, okay?"

I pulled my lips in and nodded, following him and Scott into the school.

"Are you sure about this?" Stiles looked at Scott.

"Whoever's controlling Jackson had to finish the job last time, so what do you think is gonna happen this time?"

"He's gonna be there to make sure the job's finished," I answered. Stiles ran a hand through his short hair and we continued down the hall.

* * *

I felt large hands cover my eyes as I sat outside on a bench. It was my free period and usually I would've been annoyed at the interruption, but I relaxed when I heard Isaac's voice.

"Guess who," he said into my ear. I laughed and swatted his hands off my face. I looked over my shoulder at him and gave him a mock glare.

"Really, Isaac?" I asked. He shrugged and grinned at me, sitting next to me on the bench.

"It was worth a shot," he said. "I was trying to be cute."

I turned my head to him and laughed, shaking my head slowly. "And it worked, but you really need to find new ways to greet me."

I felt heat crawl up my face when I realized I'd basically called him cute and he caught it, grin widening.

"How should I greet you then?" he questioned instead of pointing out my red face.

I motioned for him to lean closer to me as if I were going to tell him a secret, and he did so. Our noses were almost touching and my heart rate picked up, but I ignored it.

"Saying 'hi' would've been nice," I whispered. "Normal people tend to do that."

"I thought we agreed that I wasn't normal," he whispered back, not missing a beat or moving his face.

"Good point," my voice was breathy as my eyes traveled around his face. "On second thought, I don't think I like normal."

"Yeah?" his eyes moved to my lips. "What do you like?"

My eyes fluttered closed as our faces slowly crept towards each other. I could feel his soft ones brush mine for a millisecond before the bell rang, signaling the end of free period. I stopped moving my head towards him and I squeezed my eyes tighter in irritation. I sighed and pulled away from him, face red and heart beating out of my chest.

"We should go," I told him, gathering my things. I glanced over at him and he was merely sitting there, neck red. His eyes sparkled with a kind of determination and my eyebrows furrowed.

"Isaac? Are you-" I was cut off by his lips connecting with mine and I stiffened. Then I melted into him and my eyes closed automatically, my arms finding their way around his neck. His hands were on either side of my face, holding me in place gently, as if he was afraid I'd move away.

It wasn't a needy, lustful kiss. It was slow, sweet and filled with emotions I couldn't even pick out. Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I felt lighter as his lips moved against mine. Too soon for my liking, he broke away, but we stayed in our position, looking at each other.

Our breathing was uneven and both of our faces were flushed, but we had giant smiles on our faces.

"I couldn't let you leave without doing that," he said, catching his breath.

I only nodded and he laughed lightly at me. He leaned forward slowly and kissed my forehead.

"Go to class," Isaac let go of my face and I stood shakily, mind racing. I hiked my bag up onto my shoulder and walked towards the school, waving at him before going through the double doors.

I walked toward my locker, avoiding the crowds that were quickly filling the hall, and bit my lip, trying to subdue the large grin on my face. Apparently it didn't work because when Scott came up to me so we could go to our next class, he looked at me, curious.

"You seem happy," he said slowly. "What happened? I've been looking for you since the bell rang."

I could only shake my head and grab his arm, dragging him to class. My smile didn't falter once.

* * *

"Ketamine?" the three of us watched as Deaton filled a syringe. Apparently Isaac had gotten us tickets for the rave – rather violently, according to Stiles – and we were at the vet's, planning how to catch the kanima.

"It's a similar type of anesthesia that is used on dogs, just a higher dosage," Deaton explained and Scott took the syringe.

"This," Deaton held out a glass bottle, "is some of what you will use to create the barrier." Scott reached for it, but Deaton moved it away from his hand. "This part is for you, Stiles," he slid it over to him.

"Sounds like a lot of pressure," Stiles muttered and I gave him a reassuring smile.

"You can do it," I whispered to him and he grabbed the bottle in his hand.

"It's from the mountain ash tree," Deaton said. "People used to believe that it could protect against the supernatural."

"So I spread this around the whole building and Jackson and his master will be trapped?" Stiles wondered.

"Pretty much," the vet shrugged. "Think of it like gun powder. It's just powder, until a spark happens. You are the spark, Stiles."

"If you mean light myself on fire, I don't think I'm up for that," Stiles warned him sarcastically. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"He means, you have to believe in yourself," I clarified. "Like in Peter Pan."

"So I have to be an imaginary character that doesn't age," he sighed. "Wonderful."

"No, Zarina is right," Deaton cut in. "You have to see it in your mind before it can happen, Stiles. It can be pretty extraordinary what the force of your own will can accomplish."

Scott and I glanced down at Stiles, who looked like he was in deep thought. Scott patted our friend on the back supportively and they grinned at each other. I smiled softly at the two.

* * *

My brother was not happy at all when I'd told him that I was going to a rave. Though I said I was going with Allison, the prospect of me even going to one had convinced him to say no. Still, with the help of my puppy eyes and promises to do chores for the rest of my life, Alex relented and I was now staring at myself in the mirror.

I wore darker makeup than usual and my shorts and tank top were suddenly too revealing for my taste, but I shoved the feeling away. Stiles texted me saying that he was outside and I shoved my feet into combat boots before hurrying downstairs quietly, so as to not wake my brother up.

As I slid into the car, heading straight to the back seat so Scott could occupy the front, I noticed that Stiles looked really bothered. He didn't even greet me, which was strange for him.

"What's wrong?" I looked at him as he drove.

"Nothing. I'm fine," he voice was calm. Too calm. His eyes were fixated on the road and I knew his mind was somewhere else.

"Genim Stilinski," I scolded and he flinched at his first name, but didn't answer. "I am your best friend. You can't bullshit me."

When he didn't talk, I sigh and leaned forward.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Stiles. What happened?" my voice was gentler and his shoulders deflated. He then told me about how his father was getting laid off because of all the things he'd done, the police station saying that the son of the sheriff getting into so much trouble was a bad influence.

"The look on his face. He was completely disappointed," he finished, voice weak as he put the car in park in front of Scott's house. Stiles' eyes shone with unshed tears and I rubbed his back. "It's all my fault."

"No, stop," I said sternly, but sympathetically. "I know all about guilt, but you have nothing to be guilty for. You're helping Scott and I know if you could tell your dad, you would. Don't put all the blame on yourself, Sti. It's not fair to yourself."

Stiles looked up at me and nodded. "Thanks, Z," he said, lips tilting upwards slightly. We both saw Scott coming out of his house. "Please, just...don't say anything to Scott."

I nodded and sat back into my seat as Scott entered the car. We were all silent as the car moved to the warehouse. I knew that Stiles, despite my comfort, was still blaming himself and I wanted nothing more than to help him. With all this going on, there was no doubt in my mind that the night was going to be really, really long.

* * *

**AN: ****_ZARISAAC KISS OMG SO FUN TO WRITE THEY'RE JUST SO CUTE AND UGH CAN'T EXPRESS. But don't worry Stirina fans, Stiles isn't out of the picture just yet. (; Could've, should've, would've kept adding to this chapter so that it'd be longer, but I'm super tired and I have a headache. Apologies for that._**

**_Thank you so immensely much for the faves, reviews, and follows. Each one of you deserves a reward for being amazing and beautiful in every way. I love you guys too much, clearly._**

**_Still, please continue to review/fave. Things are going to pick up soon and the motivation to continue would be greatly appreciated._**

**_xx._**


	9. Nine

**Disclamer: I don't own TW...I only own my OC: Zarina. Moving on.**

* * *

Once Stiles parked in the back of the warehouse, we got out of the car. The blaring music from inside vibrated the ground and I could instantly feel a headache coming along.

"You okay?" Scott asked Stiles. I knew he'd figure something was up. It wasn't difficult to tell.

Stiles opened the trunk and began fishing around for our things. "Yeah, why?" he pulled the mountain ash out of the car.

I didn't know how, but Scott had met with Derek and Isaac in Deaton's office a few days previous and they had discussed a plan.

"You just didn't say anything the whole way here," Scott prodded.

"No, I'm fine," Stiles assured, though I'm positive Scott didn't believe him. If I didn't know what was wrong, I wouldn't have believed him either. "Just grab the other bag," he instructed.

"I can't, remember? Deaton said you have to do it alone," Scott reminded. Cold air blew and I shivered, rubbing my bare arms up and down.

"Okay, this plan is starting to suck," Stiles complained, but Scott wasn't paying attention.

"No," he muttered. "Not here! Not now!" He angrily stalked over in the direction he was looking and Stiles and I were left alone.

"What?" Stiles called after our friend. "Scott! What am I supposed to-plan officially sucks!" He turned to me and I shrugged, clueless.

I briskly walked over to Stiles and kissed his cheek before walking away. "Just stay here! Stick to the plan, I'll find Scott. Okay?" I called over my shoulder. His face was red and he was mumbling something to himself with wide eyes. I rolled my eyes and walked into the warehouse.

* * *

It was just like my vision. Lights flashed to and fro, the bright colors effectively making my headache worse. The loud dance music pounded in my eardrums and I felt like my brain was rattling inside my head.

I saw Isaac from across the room and I felt my cheeks redden as we looked at each other. He grinned at me and gave me a wink. I waved back dumbly and bit my lip, remembering that I had to find Scott.

"My father and Gerard are coming here!" Allison informed Scott. I walked up to them, standing next to Scott.

"What?" I asked her, incredulous. "You're kidding, right?" Allison glanced at me and turned back to Scott as he ranted.

"Why? What did you tell them?" he growled. "Allison!"

"I had to tell them!" Allison said desperately.

"Oh my god, they know it's Jackson!" Scott accused. I felt white-hot anger erupt in me.

"They're going to kill him!" I added.

"No, they said it was just going to be a trap," she defended her family.

"And you really believe them? What do you think they'll do with Jackson when they catch him, huh?" I asked her, voice cold. "No, Allison. They're going to kill him and they won't let anyone, much less us, stop them."

"People are dying Scott! What am I supposed to do?" she turned to her boyfriend in hopes of a better reaction than mine.

"You're supposed to trust me!" he spat, obviously exasperated.

"I do trust you! More than anyone!" she was on the verge of tears by now and I sighed, unable to believe my ears.

"We-we've had a plan!" Scott gestured to the two of us and I rubbed his shoulder, trying to get him to calm down.

"So do they!" Allison told us.

"This isn't going to work," he was hysterical and I shook him.

"You cannot freak out right now," I scolded him. "We'll stick to the plan, just please calm down. We don't have time for this." He nodded at me.

"What do you want me to do?" Allison asked, trying to fix the mess she created. "Okay, I-I can fix it! Please, Scott. Just tell me what to do!" I felt guilty for being so cold to her, but there wasn't time, so I pushed past her.

"Just stay out of the way!" he told her harshly as he followed me.

"Scott!" Allison pleaded.

"Just stay out of the way!" he repeated, louder.

Scott caught up to me and I grabbed his hand so the crowd wouldn't separate us. We found Isaac and I grabbed his wrist in my other hand, pulling them both behind a pillar.

"What's up?" he looked at us and leaned against it.

I let go of the two boys and sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"We need you to help us with Jackson," Scott said quietly.

"Why me?" Isaac looked confused as he stared at my friend.

"Because I've got to make sure the Argents don't ruin the plan and I can't let Zarina get hurt," he explained.

Isaac nodded and we looked at each other. I must've looked worried because he smiled at me reassuringly. It was a secret promise to keep me safe, and I was sure that he would.

"Okay, look, you've got to do it intravenously. That means in the vein. You find him and you pull back on this plunger here," Scott guided, pulling out the syringe.

"The neck will be the easiest place. No clothing to get in your way," I added and they both nodded at me.

"So you find a vein, jam it in there and pull back on the trigger," Scott said, handing him the needle. "Be careful.

Isaac chuckled, "I doubt it'll even slightly hurt him." He turned the syringe in his hand.

"I meant you," he said. "I don't want you getting hurt. Either of you." Scott looked at the two of us and I gave him a smile, while Isaac looked plain shocked. Based on his face, no one had ever cared about him this much. The feeling was new to him, I realized.

Scott was eyeing the exit suspiciously and I nudged him towards it. I knew that he was freaking out because Argent was coming and frankly, so was I.

"Go. I have Isaac here," I told him. "He'll keep me safe." Scott nodded and ran off towards the door.

I turned back to Isaac, who was still looking at the syringe in his open hand. I closed his hand around the bottle with mine and he looked down at me.

"Are you sure you can do this?" I asked quietly. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Will you just trust me?" he said. "If it makes you feel better, I'll promise to be extra safe. Just for you."

I looked up at him through my eyelashes and smiled. "You better keep that promise, Lahey," I warned. "I'm watching you."

"Who's the stalker now?" he chuckled and I pulled him into a hug.

His arms snaked around me and he held me tighter. We stood there in each other's arms for a few moments, relishing in the safety of each other. I was genuinely worried for him. Werewolf or not, the kanima was stronger than him and I couldn't handle him getting hurt.

With one last squeeze, we pulled away and I pecked him in the corner of his mouth before unwrapping my arms around him. He only held me tighter when I tried to walk away.

"You missed," he teased, pouting like a child. I laughed and patted his chest.

"Keep your promise, and I might just make up for it later," I replied cheekily, pulling myself out of his arms and walking into the crowd of dancing people.

* * *

I moved my eyes back and forth, in search of Jackson. The few minutes I spent searching for him felt like hours in the hot, stuffy warehouse, but I pushed through. If it saved a life, the uncomfortable atmosphere was worth it.

I paused when I saw Erica dancing sensually between Isaac and Jackson. I felt my heart drop to my stomach and my breathing hitch as I watched her press herself against Isaac, but I told myself that it was the plan. It had to be done. The jealousy was bubbling in me at alarming rates and I wanted nothing more than to rip her pretty blonde head off her shoulders for even touching Isaac that way, but I held myself back.

When Isaac leaned down to kiss Erica as she danced against Jackson, I had to physically close my eyes and turn my head away from the scene. I couldn't do it. I couldn't watch him with someone else. It was supposed to be me he was with and seeing him with another girl hurt more than I would've admitted. I wanted to cry and scream at him for kissing another girl so soon after kissing me like I meant the world to him, but I decided that I wouldn't be that girl. I wouldn't be weak.

I turned to see if Stiles had come in, but I realized that Isaac and Erica were out of sight. And so was Jackson. My eyes widened as I searched the rave and found the two on the floor, paralyzed. Isaac looked like he was in a great amount of pain and I almost went to help him, but I saw Jackson walking towards people, eyes set on one girl.

No, I thought, my prophecy wouldn't come true. Not this time. I ran over to Jackson and shoved him backwards.

"Jackson, no!" I yelled.

Jackson's eyes narrowed and they turned slightly reptilian as he grabbed me by the neck and shoved me against the wall nearby. I felt his nails dig into my neck, and I felt relieved when I realized that his claws hadn't grown.

"Stay out of my way," he snarled at me in the gravelly voice I'd heard in my vision.

"Please, don't do this Jackson," I coughed harshly as he squeezed tighter.

"You honestly think you and your little group can stop us?" Jackson asked. "You're all too weak. Especially you. Thinking you can predict all this shit and that everything will be okay? You can't even control your own powers, so how do you expect to stop us?"

I felt tears trickle down my face I kicked him in the stomach, trying to get him to release his grip on my neck. I was slowly losing air and black dots danced in my vision. Jackson growled and slapped me across the face, nails cutting my face. My head whipped to the side and I felt the warm blood mix with my tears.

I saw Isaac come up behind Jackson and stab him in the neck with the needle. Jackson let go of my neck as he fell to the ground, unconscious, and Erica went to grab him. I fell to my knees, gasping and coughing for air.

Isaac crouched next to me and rubbed my back whispering comforting words into my ear. I lifted my head and gave him a small smile, but flinched when the action crinkled the cuts on my cheek.

His eyes flashed gold when he saw the blood on my face. I put a hand on his cheek, shaking my head. His features softened when he realized that I was going to be okay and I felt my breathing stabilize again.

Isaac stood up and held out a hand for me. I grabbed it and stood, albeit shakily, and we followed Erica towards a room. Isaac pulled me along behind him as we entered the back room.

He let go of me and helped Erica lug Jackson into a chair. I shut the door quickly so no one would see and I leaned my head against the wall, cheek stinging. The door suddenly opened and we all stiffened.

"Just me! It's just me!" Stiles held his hands out defensively as he walked inside.

"Oh thank god," I breathed out and ran up to him, engulfing him in a hug. Stiles pulled away and noticed the long scratches on my cheek, running a finger along them softly.

"Did Jackson do this?" he asked, sending a glare towards him. I nodded.

"I'm fine," I assured. "Let's just get this over with, yeah?"

I turned and saw that Isaac was looking over at the two of us angrily as he watched our little moment. I felt slightly confused at his expression, but brushed it off. There was a job we had to finish.

"Is he okay?" Stiles walked up to Jackson and the two werewolves.

"Well," Isaac's claws grew and he inched closer to our unconscious hostage, "let's find out."

He brought his hand towards him to grab his shirt, but Jackson caught him by the wrist and twisted it. The crack of bones breaking was clearly audible as Isaac fell to his knee in pain. He groaned and backed away when Jackson let go.

I walked up to Isaac and grabbed his wrist carefully, inspecting it as it healed. I tilted my head in interest. The bones were moving back into place and I could see them through his skin as they shifted. I let it go and it dropped back to his side gently.

"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles said wildly, directing the statement more towards Isaac and Erica.

"I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out," Isaac grunted out, his wrist still in the process of healing.

"We need a stronger dose," I said from beside him, pulling my hair behind my neck.

"Yeah, well apparently this is all we're going to get," Stiles motioned to Jackson's body. "So let's hope that whoever's controlling him decided to show up tonight."

"I'm here." We turned to Jackson. His eyes were open and the voice was gravelly and familiar. "I'm right here with you."

Stiles walked closer to him and knelt in front of the chair. I went to moved closer to my friend, worried, but Isaac caught my arm. I looked back and he shook his head once. I bit my lip and moved back to my position next to him.

"Jackson, is that you?" Stiles asked.

"Us. We're all here," he said, staring straight at Stiles. He gave us a glance from over his shoulder and turned his attention back to Jackson.

"Are you the one killing people?"

"We're the ones killing the murderers," the voice replied.

"So, all the people you've killed so far…" Stiles trailed off.

"Deserved it."

The tension in the room rose and I felt really uncomfortable being so close to Jackson when he was like this.

"So, we got a little rule book that says you only go after murderers," Stiles told him.

"Anything can break if enough pressure is applied," the voice responded darkly.

"So, the people you're killing are all murderers?"

"All. Each. Every one," Jackson confirmed.

"Who did they murder?" Stiles' voice shook slightly.

"Me," the voice grew louder, more menacing.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Stiles probed, confused.

"They murdered me!" Jackson was yelling at this point, his voice hysterical.

I walked up to Stiles and grabbed his forearm, pulling him away from Jackson as his eyes shifted to the kanima's. Even Erica looked scared.

"Okay, alright. More ketamine! This man needs ketamine, come on!" Stiles commanded anxiously, ripping his arm from my hand. Isaac showed him the empty bottle.

"We don't have anymore," he said worriedly.

"You used the whole bottle?" Stiles closed his eyes and breathed out through his mouth. I tugged on Stiles' shirt as Jackson stood from the chair, half shifted. A loud growl escaped his mouth. "Okay, out. Everybody out! Go, go, go, go!" he yelled quickly.

I pushed Stiles out of the door and grabbed Isaac's hand, pulling him towards me.

"Find something to put in front of the door," I ordered as we leaned against the, now closed, door.

I was squished between Stiles, who had his arm barred over all of us, and Isaac, who was holding my hand in a death grip. My eyes were wide and my breathing came out in short gasps as we stood there quietly.

The kanima then ran through the wall, creating a gaping hole in the bricks.

"Okay," Stiles said slowly, voice several octaves higher than usual. "That plan's out." We all stared at the hole in shock.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Stiles broke our surprised silence and dropped his arm as we moved away from the door.

I was about to respond when everything shifted in front of my eyes, creating a new scene in front of me.

_"What? What are you doing?" Scott was backing up against the wall trying to get away from someone._

_"Isn't it obvious?" Mrs. Argent stepped closer to him. "I'm killing you."_

"Scott," I gasped out as I returned to the real world. Erica, Isaac, and Stiles were all standing in front of me, fearful looks on their faces.

"Did you just **see** something?" Stiles asked.

Isaac and Erica's eyes kept looking into mine, as if they expected them to turn white again. I didn't blame them for being scared.

"Yes," I grit out. "I saw Scott and he's in trouble. We have to find him. Soon."

Stiles nodded and the four of us ran through the crowd, Isaac taking my hand. I was pushed around several times, but Isaac kept me steady as we rushed through the pulsating warehouse.

We barreled through the door and saw Derek and Stiles standing outside. Isaac, Erica, and I tried to walk towards them, but were pushed backwards by an invisible wall. I looked down and noticed the black powder that Stiles had spread around the building.

"Oh my god!" Stiles said excitedly. "It's working! I-this! I did something!" he looked at me excitedly and I sighed.

"That's great, really, it is," I told him, "But where's Scott?"

Derek looked up when a faint growl resounded from nowhere. "Scott," he said. I wondered how he knew it was him, but chose not to ask.

"What?" Stiles turned to the Alpha.

"Scott. Break it!" he demanded, pointing to the powder on the ground.

"What, no way!" Stiles argued, clearly hesitant to ruin his work.

"Scott's dying!"

"Okay, what? How do you know that?" Stiles was skeptical. "Zarina's the Oracle here, shouldn't she be the one warning me about this stuff?"

"Stiles!" I pounded on the clear wall in front of me harshly. "For the love of god, break it! I _did_ warn you about this, remember?"

He quickly got to his knees and broke the line. Derek left as soon as the wall disappeared and Stiles stood.

The four of us stayed there and I rubbed my temples. Whatever I saw that was going on with Scott, it was anything but good.

"What do we do now?" Stiles asked me. I shrugged, helpless. I didn't know what was happening to Scott. I didn't even know if it was in our power to help him at all.

"There's no way we can help now," I replied quietly. "I guess we just have to wait." And so we did.

* * *

**AN: ****_Double update because why not? Was only going to start this chapter today, but before I knew it I was finished so here it is. Eh, not one of my best but I tried lol. Jealous Zarina is fun to write though. _**

_**Lemme just do this real quick okur? SHOUT-OUT TO GUEST. They review on almost every chapter and I seriously love what they have to say so much; they're beautiful and kind and ugh much love to you, Guest. Four for you.**_

_**Please fave/review if you enjoyed and yeah. Hope this chapter didn't make you want to rip your hair out as much as it made me want to rip mine. Sigh.**_

_**xx.**_


	10. Ten

**Disclaimer: I don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Continue.**

* * *

"You sure you don't want to stay at my house and eat ice cream with me?" Stiles suggested as he drove me home.

We had gotten a call from Deaton saying that Scott was at the office, so we immediately left the warehouse to meet them. Scott was still healing, which was a good sign. The vet also checked the cuts on my cheek from when Jackson had slapped me, saying that they weren't infected and that they wouldn't scar, thankfully.

What I'd seen had come true; Victoria Argent had cornered Scott and was poisoning him with wolfsbane vapor. Derek came just in time, though, so nothing too bad happened. The Alpha explained everything to us, including how he'd bitten Victoria. He said he wasn't sure where she'd gone off to, or if she was alive even, but he said it'd work itself out.

Derek then took Scott with him to the subway station and I broke down as soon as they left, telling Stiles how heartbroken I was because of Isaac and how he'd kissed Erica. I pushed it out of my head during the kanima encounter, so I'd forgotten I was even angry at Isaac, but once I remembered, it all hurt twice as much. I felt confused and sad and like I wanted to scream.

I ended up telling Stiles the whole story, kiss and all. He seemed kind of put out when I'd told him, but he comforted me nonetheless. Stiles dried my tears and told me how stupid boys were, despite being one himself.

"I mean, your brother might worry about you if you walk in like this," he took one hand off the wheel and gestured to my bloodshot eyes and smeared makeup and I raised my eyebrow at him. "N-Not that you look bad or anything, in fact, you look gorgeous, all the time actually, and-"

I laughed, cutting him off. "I got what you meant," I sighed. "But I have to go home or else Alex will think I got kidnapped and he'll start a search party."

"Good point," he hummed. "Your brother has been really protective lately. What's up with that?"

I shrugged. "I wish I knew. It's getting kind of suffocating."

Stiles nodded and pulled up to my house. When I went to open my door, he locked the car and I turned in my seat, looking at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing to the locked door.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he bit his lip.

"It's no big deal," I told him. "We weren't even dating, anyways." My voice was more bitter than I'd intended and Stiles' eyes widened.

"Then why are you so bothered by it?" he asked cautiously. Any other time, I would've been angry that he'd ask such an inconsiderate question, but he had a point.

"I don't know," I ran a hand through my hair. "He was just different, I guess. He made me _feel _different. I guess I was just getting my hopes up."

"You deserve more than that, you know," Stiles said quietly, causing me to look up at him in surprise. "You deserve someone who'll be dedicated to you and only you. Someone who actually means it when they say they care about you."

I felt my eyes widen at every word that came out of his mouth. The way he said it surprised me. He sounded genuine and serious, with no traces of joking or teasing, which was different coming from him. The fact that he actually thought I deserved something that good sent butterflies to my stomach.

I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his shoulder. "Thank you, Stiles."

He chuckled and kissed the side of my head fondly, "It's the truth. Someone as great as you shouldn't settle for less than they deserve."

We pulled away from each other and I smiled at him. He unlocked his car and I slid out of the jeep, walking up to my porch. Stiles sent me a smile and a wave before driving off. I watched his car drive away for a second, his words still bouncing around in my head, before entering my house.

I walked into the living room and plopped myself onto the couch next to my brother, who was watching a show. The sounds of the TV were the only ones that filled the silence as we sat there together.

"Are you okay?" my brother asked, turning down the volume low. "You look like you've been crying."

I rubbed my eyes and sighed. "I'm okay. It's just been a really long night."

"Is it a boy problem?" he asked and I snorted.

"If it was, would you be want to help me?" I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and he looked offended.

"Of cour-" he paused, thinking, before his expression turned to disgust. "Actually, no. I can't imagine you with a boy. Spare me the details."

I laughed and nudged him, feeling more at ease around him than I had that whole week. I guess the old Alex was back and the protective, crabby one had gone away. Well, at least for that moment.

"Go up to bed, kiddo," he said. "It's late."

I nodded, finally realizing how tired I was, and started climbing the steps. I stopped halfway and turned my head.

"Alex?" I called out and he replied with a loud 'yeah?'. "I love you."

He was silent for a moment before replying. "Love you too, sis."

I grinned and continued up the stairs and into the bathroom. Once inside, I went into my bathroom and washed the non-bandaged parts of my face, ridding myself of all the makeup and changed into pajamas. I quickly brushed my teeth and stalked groggily into my room. My eyes looked at my canvas and my eyebrows furrowed when the drawing I'd made of Peter biting me in the Hale house was still taped up.

Strange. I didn't remember keeping that up. But then again, I didn't remember taking it down either. I shrugged it off and turned off my lamp, hopping into bed and letting the tendrils of sleep take over my body.

* * *

_I was standing in the Hale house, the moon full and bright through the window in the room I was in. I started to walk around the house, confused as to why I was there. The entire house was cold and I shivered as a cool breeze blew towards me._

_"Hello?" my voice echoed in the empty halls and rooms. "Is anyone here?"_

_I was in the foyer when a flash of light got into my eye. I moved out of the way and slowly walked to the place the light had come from. Lydia was inside, adjusting one of the many mirrors in the room. Her eyes looked hazy, as if she were blanked out, though she moved with purpose and precision, like she was completely aware of what she was doing._

_I looked down and threw my hands over my mouth as I saw an unconscious Derek with his hand deep into a hole in the middle of the floorboards in front of my feet. His hand was holding someone else's, except the other hand was dirty, cold, and lifeless. I stumbled backward a few steps, breathing heavily. I looked at Lydia, who was still messing with the mirrors._

_"Lydia?" I asked, voice uneven. "What are you doing?"_

_She didn't reply, instead continuing her work as if I'd never even spoken. My eyes followed her as she adjusted the final mirror. The moonlight from the window bounced off each mirror until the light finally hitting the hole in the floor. I cautiously walked towards the hole and knelt beside it so I could look inside. _

_I felt my breathing grow ragged as I saw Peter's dead body, illuminated by the moonshine. Tears gathered in my eyes as his once lifeless eyes flew open, looking sharp and very much alive. I couldn't move or speak as a smirk grew on Peter's face as he bathed in the light that hit him._

_"There you are," he snarled at me before lunging out of the hole and pouncing onto me._

* * *

I screamed myself awake, sitting upright and burying my head into my knees. I sobbed into my legs, each one wracking my body as I shook, completely terrified. A burst of cold air blew by and I lifted my head when I heard leaves rustling. My room wasn't ever this cold. Or this close to the forest.

Arms still wound tightly around my legs, I looked around with wide, tear filled eyes. I was in front of the Hale house. The moon was still high in the sky and I was in my pajamas, though they were torn and dirty, my blood – I assumed – staining some of the rips. The bandage on my cheek was ripped off and the cuts were covered in dried blood.

The house itself loomed, dark and dilapidated, behind me and after my nightmare, I was afraid to even look at it. The trees around the house swayed as the nighttime wind whooshed them around and I realized how numb my feet and hands were.

I clenched my hands to get some blood blowing through them when I noticed the fingers of my right hand tightly wound around a piece of my art paper and the ones on my left clutching a piece of charcoal.

I dropped the charcoal on the ground and unwrinkled the paper. It revealed my drawing of Peter, except it was different. Scrawled hastily on the paper, on top of my drawing, were the words '**HE'S BACK**' over and over again.

I shook my head slowly, tears falling down my face as I read what I'd written.

"No," I whispered to myself. "NO!" My loud voice echoed in the forest, my loud, heartbroken sobs mixing in with it not too soon afterwards.

* * *

"Zarina?" Stiles and Scott's voices came from the woods in front of me and my head whipped up from my knees.

They came bursting out of the woods, Isaac close behind them and they broke into a sprint when they saw me curled up on the floor, clutching a paper like it was a lifeline.

"Oh my god," Stiles said as he and Scott crouched in front of me, faces relieved and the bags under their eyes suggested that they'd been out all night. Isaac lingered a few feet behind them, looking quite relieved himself.

"What happened to you?" Scott asked, examining my bloody and dirty figure.

"I-I, he," I tried to explain, but the fear and confusion I felt because of the situation caused my breath to hitch in my throat and soon I was crying again.

Stiles pulled me into his arms and hushed me quietly, stroking my hair. Scott rubbed my legs comfortingly, warming them up.

"It's over," Stiles said into my ear. "You're here with us now. With me."

My free hand clutched at his shirt, balling it up in desperation as I dug my face into his chest. The tears seemed to be endless as the three of us sat here, the two of them soothing me and me letting them.

"What happened?" Scott asked again as my tears slowed slightly. I still couldn't talk, so I gave him my drawing. Stiles still held me tightly, but craned his head so he could see the paper. Isaac stood above Scott, looking at it as well.

"Is this..?" Stiles asked and I felt his chest vibrate as he spoke. I nodded.

"It's Peter," I croaked out, trying not to sound scared, but I failed miserably. "I h-had a dream about h-him last night. Lydia was there and she did s-some kind of t-thing with D-Derek to revive him. And w-when I woke up, I was here."

"He's going to come back," Scott repeated slowly. "from the dead? With Lydia's help?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered. "We have to stop it, Scott. We have to, oh my god, please don't make me see him again. I can't do it- I can't, I just-"

"Stop," Stiles shushed, stroking my hair again. "We won't let him hurt you, right Scott?"

Scott nodded. "Definitely. We'll keep you safe. Peter won't bother you anymore."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I whispered brokenly. "Don't."

They stayed silent after that, the three boys inspecting my drawing as I tried to stop shaking. They meant well, I knew that much, but my predictions had yet to be false. Each and every thing I drew or saw happened.

"We should get her home, let her brother know she's alright," Isaac said once the situation had sunk in.

I felt Stiles and Scott – who I assumed was already filled in about Isaac and I - stiffen at his voice, but they nodded curtly, helping me up from the ground. I wobbled as I put weight on my numb legs and my best friends supported me from both sides, each of my arms slung around their necks as they led me to Stiles' jeep. Isaac stayed close behind me, ready to catch me if I somehow fell.

They helped me into the back seat and Isaac slid in next to me, wrapping a large blanket around me as I shivered. His hand brushed hair away from my face before he pulled away, buckling his seat belt. The simple action sent sparks down my neck, but I was too traumatized to notice.

The drive to my house consisted of Scott and Stiles explaining to me what'd happened. My brother had woken up to go to work at 4 in the morning, only to find that I was gone from my bed, the window wide open. Alex then called the two, wondering if they'd seen me, which they hadn't, so they called all of our friends, including Isaac, to see if they had.

None of them did see me, obviously, so the three boys – though my friends were reluctant to include Isaac – convinced my brother to hold off on calling the police while they went to find me. It took all night, but with the help of my scent, they did indeed figure out where I was.

I stayed silent throughout the story, my heart warming at how hard they worked to find me. It meant more than words could explain that they'd done so much to make sure I was safe. I'd never been more grateful to have such amazing people in my life.

* * *

After a warm reunion with my brother, meaning he hugged the daylights out of me, making me promise not to ever do that to him again, Stiles and Scott went home to catch up on sleep. They didn't leave without demanding that I text them every hour to make sure I was okay, to which I rolled my eyes at, but agreed to.

Isaac didn't go with them, saying he could walk back to the abandoned subway station. The two of us told my brother to go to work. I knew how much work meant to my brother, he'd go crazy if he missed more than a few hours.

Alex, of course, said he wanted to make sure I was okay, but Isaac assured him that he'd watch over me. This did little to ease his suspicions, but my brother eventually went to the hospital for work and Isaac and I were left in my room.

I laid in my bed, still shivering from staying in the forest all night, blankets piled high on top of me. Before leaving, Alex had disinfected and wrapped all my wounds and washed off the dirt I'd accumulated from my nighttime 'adventure'.

I felt cleaner than before afterwards, but I felt a distinct feeling of dirtiness that I wasn't sure could ever be cleaned after what I'd been through. I thought of Peter and how his eyes looked up at me from his grave as he slowly regained life. It made me shudder in disgust.

Isaac sat in my desk chair, eyeing me as I basically relived my night in my head. "I know this is dumb to ask," he sighed. "But are you okay?"

"No," I didn't bother lying. "I don't think I ever will be after that."

He nodded in understanding, shifting in his seat. "You know, you have a lot of people who care about you."

"Yeah, I know," I smiled softly and looked at him. He looked wistful, almost envious as I said this.

"Must be nice," he said, voice low.

"It is," I agreed. "But you have people who care about you too, you know that, right?"

"Sure I do," he chuckled sarcastically.

"No, seriously," I told him. "You have Derek, Erica, Boyd." I listed off.

"They're my pack, they're supposed to care."

"And you have Scott and Stiles."

"Please, they don't even li-"

"You have me," I finished my list, looking him straight in the eye. "Even if you don't want me, you'll have me."

"What makes you think I don't want you?" he inquired.

"It's just, you kissed Erica at the rave, so I assumed-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Assumed what? That I didn't feel anything for you?" I nodded and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Zarina, what I did was for the plan. You know you mean so much to me, I mean you even felt it. I know you did."

And I did. I did feel it. I felt it in his kiss and his hugs and the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn't looking. I suddenly felt stupid for doubting him.

"You're right," I sat up in my bed, covers falling to my waist. "I'm sorry I said that, I know you wouldn't hurt me like that. I was just insecure."

Isaac sat at the edge of my bed to my left, his side facing me. "You have nothing to be insecure about. Nothing at all."

My eyes searched his for a second and found only sincerity and affection as we smiled at each other. "By the way," he said suddenly. "You remember when you said you'd make it up to me later if I stayed safe?"

I reddened at the memory, but nodded.

"It's later," he finished, winking.

I snorted at him and rolled my eyes. "You got paralyzed and Jackson broke your wrist," I told him. "I don't think you stayed very safe."

"I'm alive. I think that counts as being pretty safe," he defended teasingly.

"You're so desperate," I giggled as I grabbed the back of his neck and connected our lips. He sighed into the kiss and I smiled, Peter and everything else that'd happened slipping from my mind.

* * *

My brother made me stay home from school on Monday, which I didn't mind much, due to the fact that I needed the rest. Stiles and Scott visited after school, recapping lessons for me and completely avoiding the topic of Peter, which I appreciated more than anything.

I also mentioned that Isaac and I were back to being okay, which Scott seemed fine with, but Stiles started to act…weird after. His words were curt and he seemed stiff, but I didn't think too much about it. He always acted like that when I mentioned Isaac, now that I thought about it.

The boys said that things at school were relatively normal; Jackson wasn't much different and everything else seemed to be in order.

However, when I stepped into school on Tuesday, it seemed as if everyone stopped talking and had turned their attention to me. Somehow, word had gotten out about my little scene and people thought I was insane for staying out all night at an old burned down house.

I did my best to ignore them as I headed to my locker. Their gazes burned into my back and their whispers filled my ears, making me tense as I pulled my books out. I wanted to bury myself in my locker and never come out again.

"Hey Zarina!" Lydia chirped and I jumped 3 feet into the air, holding my heart. "Just wanted to let you know that my birthday party is tomorrow night and everyone's invited."

Once my racing heart slowed down, I forced a smile. The back of my mind was reminding me that she would bring my worst nightmare back to life. "Really? Sounds fun. I'll be there."

"Great!" she said before walking down the hall. "Oh, and wear something cute!" she called from over her shoulder.

The smile dropped from my face and I sighed. I didn't want to believe that Lydia would help Peter out so willingly, but he was a sneaky person. He'd find a way. Even if I tried to stop it, I wasn't so sure I could.

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror the next night, making sure my dress was cute enough to match up to Lydia's standards. It was a long sleeved black dress, with a low-scoop back and the torso section was tight fitting, while it flared at the bottom, the hem reaching the top of my knees. My hair was curled and pulled into a high ponytail and I had darker, but not a lot, of makeup on.

"You sure you want to go tonight?" Alex asked from my door.

I sighed and turned to him. I wasn't really keen on actually going due to my lack of trust in the girl, but Stiles had practically begged me. "It's my friend's birthday. It'd be rude not to."

"I know," he rubbed his face tiredly. "When's Stiles coming to pick you up?" Alex had gotten over his grudge over Scott and Stiles because they had found me and I was more than relieved when he accepted our friendship again.

"He should be here…" a honk blared from outside. "now."

I walked over to Alex and kissed his cheek before going downstairs.

"Love you! Get some rest, okay?" I called out before heading out the front door and greeting Stiles, who was leaning against the passenger side's door.

"Wow," he gaped. "You look pretty amazing."

"You mean that?" I felt my cheeks heat up at his compliment.

He nervously cleared his throat, "Of course I do."

I smiled at him and he hastily opened the door for me, bowing mockingly.

"My lady," he said in a faux accent.

"Thank you, kind sir," I replied in the same ridiculous accent, unable to smother my laugh as I got into the car, going straight into the back seat so Scott had space. He closed the door behind me and rushed to the other side, sliding behind the wheel.

* * *

I rang the doorbell as Stiles waited at the door, a giant box in his arms. "Happy birthday!" he shouted gleefully at Lydia when she opened the door, one hand on the handle, the other holding up glasses of punch. Her eyes widened when she saw the big box in front of her.

"Yeah! We're coming in," Stiles said, trying to maneuver the gift through the door. He struggled for a few minutes, mumbling things under his breath as he struggled. I bit my lip and kept my head bowed so he wouldn't see me laugh.

Lydia rolled her eyes and walked away after watching the sad scene play out for several seconds. "Don't forget to try the punch!" she yelled back.

Stiles finally managed to get the present through the door, falling down alongside it and Scott and I laughed at his expense. He quickly stood again and put the present to the side with a proud smile.

"Have you seen Jackson anywhere?" Stiles asked us as we walked through the house. I shook my head.

"No, seen Allison?" Scott replied.

"No, but we should probably tell her what we found," Stiles suggested.

"Even if it was only a little bit," I added, recalling the information they'd told me when they visited on Monday.

"I'm still not sure what we found," Scott tilted his head, confused.

"I figured out it has something to do with water. You know, the fact that all the victims were on the swim team, the way the kanima reacted around the pool," Stiles explained to us as I examined the empty living room.

"So whoever's controlling the kanima really hated the swim team," Scott concluded.

"The 2006 swim team, specifically," I said and Stiles nodded.

"Exactly. So it could be another teacher. Maybe like a student back then," Stiles thought aloud and we moved to the surprisingly empty pool deck. "I mean, who are we missing? What haven't we thought of?"

"I don't know, but after seeing Lydia revive Peter, I wouldn't be surprised if she were the person we're not thinking of," I said resentfully and the boys sent me sympathetic looks.

Allison walked up to us and gave Scott a tiny smile, the tension from back at the rave still present. "Uh, Jackson's not here," she told us.

"Yeah, no one's here," I said slowly, looking around.

"Maybe it's just early?" Scott offered.

"Or maybe no one's coming because Lydia's turned into the town whack job," Stiles said bluntly.

"Well we have to do something because we've completely ignored her for the past two weeks," Allison reasoned. I felt bad as I saw Lydia standing alone by the pool, punch in hand.

"Well she's completely ignored Stiles for the past ten years," Scott informed us and I snickered.

"I prefer to think of it as me not being on her radar yet," Stiles said defensively.

"That doesn't make it sound any better," I admitted to him.

"We don't owe her a party," Scott deadpanned.

"What about the chance to get back to normal?" Allison retorted.

"Normal?" I raised an eyebrow. "That word doesn't exist anymore, sorry."

"She wouldn't be the town whack job if it wasn't for us," she persisted and I saw how sad Lydia looked and my resolved weakened.

"I guess she's right," I conceded. "Come on, Scotty. It's her birthday."

Scott sighed, resigning. "I guess I could use my co-captain status to get the lacrosse team here."

"Yeah, I also know some people who could get things going, like really going," Stiles offered and I looked at him weirdly.

"Who?" Allison voiced my thoughts.

"I met them the other night. Let's just say they know how to party," Stiles said vaguely and I shook my head, knowing it couldn't be good.

* * *

A few lacrosse players and drag queens later, the party was in full swing and Scott, Stiles and I were sitting on the couch, talking and drinking punch as Scott looked longingly at Allison.

"Are you going to apologize to her or what?" Stiles asked, gesturing to the huntress.

"Why should I apologize?" Scott asked.

"Because you're the guy. It's what we do," Stiles responded and I nodded in agreement.

"But I didn't do anything wrong." The poor boy looked genuinely confused and I sighed.

"Then, you should definitely apologize," I spoke up. "See, anytime a guy thinks he hasn't done something wrong, it means he's definitely done something wrong."

"I'm not apologizing," Scott said stubbornly.

"It that the full moon talking, buddy?" Stiles patted his back.

"Probably," Scott replied. "Why do you guys care anyway?"

"Because Scott," Stiles scoffed. "Something's got to go right here. I mean, we're getting our asses royally kicked, if you haven't noticed. People are dying. I got my dad fired," he was counting off our problems.

"The psycho werewolf that bit the two of us is apparently going to come back to life," I pitched in and Stiles pointed at me, nodding.

"I'm in love with that nut job that's going to revive him, I'm having major problems with my feelings for-" he cut himself off, glancing at me, "-this girl. And on top of that, if I have to watch you lose Allison to a stalker like Matt, I'm going to stab myself in the face."

Scott stood suddenly and focused on something in the distance. "Don't stab yourself in the face," he told him, not looking away.

"Why not?" Stiles asked as the two of us stood up as well.

I cursed my shortness for rendering me unable to see over everyone else, so I waited for them to tell me what happened.

"Jackson's here," Scott replied and through the spaces between people's bodies I could kind of make out Jackson walking out of the house and up to Lydia, who was still by the punch. I took a sip of mine and I smacked my lips, tasting the tangy, but sweet flavor.

* * *

I was walking around the backyard, drinking my punch at alarming rates. Something about it was different and a part of me was telling me to stop drinking it, but I couldn't.

I saw Jackson lingering near the house and Allison and Matt going inside. I almost went to help her, but she shook her head at me, showing me she was okay. Scott was sitting down, talking to Lydia and suddenly my vision was getting hazy. The familiar burn behind my eyes arrived and I cursed.

"Not now," I mumbled as I blindly moved behind a tree, away from the party. I leaned heavily against the tree as my vision got blurrier and blurrier, the burning only growing stronger as I was pulled into a apparition.

_I looked around the kitchen as I noticed blood splattered over the floor. On the table, my brother was laying, his throat slit and his eyes lifeless. I ran over to him and shook his vigorously, pleading for him to wake up._

_Suddenly, his eyes shifted to me, still lifeless. "You did this to me," he said weakly. "How could you?"_

_"No, no, no," I whimpered. "I didn't do this, I swear. Please, Alex."_

_"You killed mom and dad," his voice was fading out. "And now you killed me." His eyes shut and his voice disappeared, leaving me alone with a dead body._

_The tears fell heavily from my cheeks as I looked down at my hands. They were covered in blood, though I was sure I hadn't touched his neck when I ran up to him. I then felt the switchblade in my pocket and I screamed. I couldn't have. It wasn't possible. Not him. I couldn't lose him, too. How could I have killed him?_

_I went into the bathroom, each step shaky and I looked into the mirror. The person in front of me wasn't me, but it was. My hair was disheveled, specks of blood spread throughout the locks. My eyes were wide, and wild looking, the blue-green hues not holding their usual spark. My clothes were covered in his blood and I shook my head, trying to convince myself that I didn't do it._

_"Zarina," I heard a voice call. "Zarina!"_

_"Stop! Please!" I pleaded. "I'm sorry!" _

* * *

"Zarina!" Scott grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me harshly, pulling me out of my vision. Thinking I was still in it, I kept struggling.

"I'M SORRY!" I yelled, kicking at my friend. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"

"ZARINA!" he yelled back and I stopped, blinking rapidly as I took in my atmosphere.

I wasn't at my house. I wasn't bloody and I wasn't a murderer. I was with Scott at Lydia's party.

"What happened?" I asked, voice small and wiped my face with the backs of my hand. Scott loosened his grip on my shoulders.

"You were hallucinating. The punch was spiked," he explained, but I shook my head frantically.

"B-But that was a vision!" I cried out. "I-I killed my brother, a-and that means I'm going to do it. It's going to come true, just like everything else!" I was hysterical, eyes wide and voice high-pitched.

"No, you're not," Scott said firmly. "You were hallucinating. None of that is going to come true. It's the punch's fault, okay? Calm down."

Scott helped me take deep breaths and soon I was calm again, my head leaned back against the tree tiredly.

"Thanks, Scotty," I smiled faintly at him and he returned it, releasing my shoulders.

"Anytime, Rina."

"Let's go find Stiles," I said and he nodded. We split up, both agreeing to search the house for him.

I found him sitting near the pool, eyes watery as he stared into space.

"Stiles?" I crouched near him and I looked into his eyes. They were filled with pain and guilt.

"It's my fault my mom died, isn't it?" he asked, hollowly.

"No," I told him firmly. "It's not. You're just seeing things, Sti. None of it is true. Trust me."

"But it was my fault, even my dad said so," he mumbled.

"Look, I'll get you some water so you can snap out of this, alright?" I was about to get up but he grabbed my hand and I stopped.

"Don't leave. Please?" he pleaded. "I need you."

I bit my lip and pulled him up with me, walking him towards the house so we could wait for Scott. He finally found us and walked up to us.

"He okay?" he asked me, glancing at Stiles, who was grasping my hand tightly.

"Yeah, he's just trying to get over it," I replied. "He'll sober up soon, I hope."

People around us were acting strange as the punch started to enter their system and I heard a scream, then a splash as someone was thrown into the pool.

"I can't swim!" Matt yelled. "I can't swim!"

We turned towards the pool and got closer as a crowd formed. Jackson dove into the water and pulled Matt out. The two ran through the crowd and I pulled Stiles along with me as I followed Scott towards the pair that'd run off.

I bumped into Scott's back when he stopped at the edge of Lydia's driveway. Matt was standing in the middle of the street, dripping wet, and the kanima had it's tail wrapped around his legs.

"Matt's the master," Scott hiss as Matt stared at us maliciously before disappearing.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Stiles asked, now sobered up and Scott nodded slowly.

* * *

**AN: ****_Supah long, and probably confusing chapter, for ya'lls. It's kinda fun (in a cruel kind of way) to write Zarina going insane LOLOL. Sorry, that's probably really screwed up, but in my defense, emotionally messed up characters are the best characters._**

**_But chyeah. Little bit of Stirina little bit of Zarisaac. Peter ruining Zarina's life. Good times. Good times._**

**_Anyways! Thanks for the faves/reviews/follows. Much love. Please continue doing all that fun stuff if you're liking the story so far! Stay sassy, my friends._**

**_xx._**


	11. Eleven

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Proceed.**

* * *

"So this kid's the real killer?" Sheriff Stilinski asked us as the three of us showed him a yearbook. After finding out about Matt, we instantly decided to go inform Stiles' dad, and it wasn't going very well.

"Yeah," Stiles said, sitting back in his chair.

"No," the sheriff disagreed in disbelief.

"Yes!" Stiles argued.

"No," he retorted and his son scrambled out of his chair.

"Dad come on! Everyone knows that the police look for ways to connect victims to murderers, okay? So all you have to do is look through their transcripts and find out which class they all had in common," Stiles explained.

"Yeah, except for the fact that the rave promoter, Kara, wasn't in Harris' class," his father reasoned.

"But you still have him in custody, right? Did they drop charges against him?" I asked, trying to help our situation.

"Did they?" Stiles pushed eagerly.

"No, you know what?" the sheriff told him stubbornly. "They're not dropping charges. But that doesn't prove anything."

He turned to Scott and I. "Scott, Zarina. Do you believe this?"

"It's really hard to explain how we know this, but you have to trust us," Scott replied desperately.

"We know it's Matt," I added, voice just as pleading.

"Yeah, he took Harris' car, okay?" Stiles pitched in. "Look, he knew that if a cop found tire tracks at one of the murders, and enough of the victims were in Harris' class, they'd arrest him!"

Even though all the pieces fit together perfectly, the sheriff still proceeded to look unsure.

"Alright, find. I'll allow the remote possibility, but give me a motive. I mean, why would this kid want most of the 2006 swim team and its coach dead?" he asked. Scott glanced at me and I gave him a frustrated shrug.

"Isn't it obvious?" Stiles threw his hands in the air and we waited for him to continue.

"Our swim team sucks! They haven't won in, like, 6 years." I rolled my eyes and slapped him upside the head, earning me a groan.

"Okay, we don't have a motive yet. But I mean, come on, does Harris?" he finished.

The sheriff stayed silent, not having an answer. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need to look at the evidence," Scott replied.

"Yeah, that would be in the station, where I no longer work," he clarified bluntly.

"Trust me, they'll let you in!" Stiles assured.

"Trust you?" he sent his son a pointed look. I saw hurt flash in Stiles' face, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"Trust…" he looked at us. "Scott and Zarina?"

I gave the sheriff an innocent smile. Scott and I hadn't given him a reason not to trust us and he seemed to realize that, nodding.

"Them, I trust," he gave in. "Let's go." We all got into Stiles' jeep, Scott and I in the back seat and the two Stilinskis in front.

"You okay?" I muttered to Scott, knowing he'd hear me. He looked extremely nervous. He simply gave me a short nod as Stiles drove hastily to the police station.

* * *

When we entered the station, the deputy from when we broke Isaac out was sitting at the desk. She saw the sheriff and looked at the clock tiredly.

"It's 2 in the morning," she told him.

The sheriff sighed, running a hand down his face, "Believe me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't extremely important."

"We should look at the hospital evidence first," I whispered to the boys.

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Because all the murders were committed by Jackson except for one," Stiles and I said in unison. Scott gave us a creeped out look and we grinned.

"The pregnant girl, Jessica, right?"

"Yeah, since Matt had to kill her himself, somebody from the hospital could've seen him," Stiles rationalized.

"Thank you," I heard the sheriff say. "Guys," he motioned for us to follow him into one of the offices and we did. We all stood closely in front of the computer screen as the security tape from the hospital played.

"I don't know, guys. I mean, look at this," he pointed to the screen. "There was a six-car pile up that night, the hospital was jammed."

"Alright, just keep going," Stiles said determinedly. "Look, he had to have passed one of the cameras in order to get to Jessica, okay? He's got to be on footage somewhere."

"Stop!" I commanded quickly. "Stop, did you see that? Go back!" The sheriff did as I asked and Stiles told him where to stop.

"That's him! That's Matt!" he exclaimed. Only his back was visible, but we were sure it was him.

"All I see is the back of someone's head," the sheriff countered.

"Matt's head, yeah," Stiles nodded. "I sit behind him in history. He's got a very distinct cranium. It's weird." He gestured to his own head and I fought back a smile. The sheriff, on the other hand, didn't find it as amusing.

"Are you crazy?" he quipped.

"Fine, look at his jacket. How many people do you know wear black leather jackets?" he inquired. I was this close to hitting him again. This close.

"Millions," the sheriff answered. "Literally!"

"Stiles, sometimes I wonder about you," I remarked under my breath.

"Can we scroll forward? There has to be a shot of him coming at one of the cameras," Scott urged and the sheriff complied.

"Right there!" Stiles pointed out. "Stop, stop see? There he is again!"

"You mean there's the back of his head again," his father groaned.

"Okay, but look. He's talking to someone," he moved his finger upwards slightly and we saw Scott's mom.

"It's my mom," Scott observed. He pulled out his phone and called her, putting her on speakerphone.

"This one's 16, he's got dark hair. Looks like a normal teenager," Scott described.

"Yeah, he looks evil!" Stiles inputted and tugged at a strand of my hair nervously.

"Scott, I already talked to the police about this," Ms. McCall sighed.

"Okay, I'll take a picture and send it to you," he did so and waited. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you recognize him? At all?" I spoke up politely.

"Yeah, I did. I mean, I remember I stopped him because he was tracking mud in the hall," she said. The sheriff was definitely convinced now. "Scott what's going on?" she sounded worried.

"It-It's nothing, mom. I'll explain later. I have to go," Scott stuttered out. The sheriff pulled out a picture from the evidence box.

"We've got shoe prints alongside the tire tracks at the trailer site," he revealed.

"And if they match, that puts Matt at the scene of three murders," I realized. "The trailer, hospital, and rave!"

"Actually, four. A credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by him at the garage where the mechanic was killed," he continued. "it was a couple of hours before Stiles got there."

"Alright, dad," Stiles began. "If one's an incident, two's a coincidence, and three's a pattern, what's four?" He sounded excited to finally have a lead.

"Four's enough for a warrant," the sheriff declared. "Scott, call your mom back and see how quick she can get here. If I can get an official ID, I can get a search warrant," he directed and Scott nodded in understanding. "Stiles, Zarina, go to the front desk. Tell the to let Scott's mom in when she gets here."

"On it," Stiles grabbed my hand and we went to the front desk. When we walked up to it, no one was sitting behind it.

"Hello?" Stiles' asked, looking around. "You think she left?"

"She shouldn't have," I said slowly. We walked closer to the desk to see if anyone was behind it. My free hand clenched in disgust as we saw the deputy dead. Her body was covered in blood and her body lay unmoving on the ground. She had obviously been attacked.

The two of us turned and Stiles pushed me behind him with one swoop of his arm as we faced Matt, who had the barrel of his gun pointed at us threateningly.

* * *

"You're kidding," I said, eyes wide. Stiles held me behind him firmly so that the gun wasn't able to shoot directly at me. Matt waved the gun around, shaking his head.

"How about letting the pretty lady go first?," he pushed Stiles out of the way and grabbed me by the arm, pushing me in front of him.

Stiles moved to get him away from me, but Matt pressed the barrel against the back of my head. The cold metal hurt as he pushed it into my hair harshly.

"Step out of line, and the bullet goes straight through your girlfriend's head," he threatened, pushing me back towards the room we occupied before. Stiles followed us cautiously, not wanting me to get hurt.

The sheriff looked up at us when he heard us come back in and he looked scared when he noticed the gun pressed against my head.

"Matt?" the sheriff asked slowly and we were pushed towards Scott, who pulled me close to him protectively. The sheriff had his hands raised in an attempt to prove that he wouldn't hurt him. "It's Matt, right? Matt, whatever's going on, I guarantee you there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun."

"You know, it's funny you say that because I don't think you're aware of just how right you are," Matt sneered and I realized his was hinting at the kanima.

"I know you don't want to hurt people," the sheriff tried to reason with him.

"Actually, I want to hurt a lot of people," Matt fixed. "You four weren't on my list, but I can be easily persuaded. And one way is to try dialing someone on their cell phone like McCall's doing." Scott froze beside me, shocked that he was seen.

"That could definitely get someone hurt!" Matt moved the gun towards me and pulled the trigger. I moved as quickly as possible, but the bullet managed to graze my ribs. I yelled out in pain and clutched at the bleeding wound as Stiles helped apply pressure to it, blood staining his hands as he did so.

"Holy shit," I hissed through my teeth, the stinging pain worsened.

"That was just one scenario," Matt said when the sheriff tried to move toward us. "Next one goes through her heart. Everyone, now!"

He motioned for us to place our cell phones on the table and we did so, me hissing in pain when I had to twist my body to get to the device in my pocket.

* * *

Matt forced Stiles to handcuff the sheriff near a holding cell and Scott and I could only watch as he did so, but loosely.

"Tighter!" he ordered, but Stiles hesitated, hands hovering over the cuffs.

"Do what he says, Stiles," his dad said and Stiles tightened them as he was told.

Matt moved us out of the room and we were walking down the hallway when we saw dead police officers scattered around everywhere.

"What, are you going to kill everyone here?" Scott asked harshly, disgusted by his lack of respect for human life.

"No, that's what Jackson's for," Matt smiled darkly. "I just think about killing them, and he does it." He continued to push us forward and we moved quickly away from the crime.

"You two, shred all the evidence," he cocked his gun and pushed it against the side of my head again, his hand gripping my arm tightly. I kept my hand over my ribs firmly, though the bleeding didn't seem to stop.

Stiles and Scott hurriedly began to get rid of the evidence, not wanting me to get hurt more than I already was.

"Why me?" I whimpered out and Matt simply laughed evilly.

"You know why," he bit out. "Freshman year. You tutored me in bio and you led me on so I believe you liked me. I asked you out. You denied, saying it was better to be 'just friends'. All that bullshit."

"I wasn't leading you on," I retorted bravely. "I was being nice. Idiots like you need to learn the difference."

He pushed the barrel further into my head and I held my breath, not wanting to show him how scared I felt. I should've felt my special Oracle defenses kick in by now, but I didn't have enough strength to even trigger them, which was not a good sign, especially since the power always reacted to dangerous situations. And this situation was definitely dangerous.

"Deleted and we're done," Stiles announced. "So, Matt, since all the people you brutally murdered deserved it because they killed you first – whatever that means – I think we're good here right? I'll just get my dad and we'll go, you know? You continue your whole vengeance thing. Enjoy the kanima."

The sound of a car pulling up came form outside. "Sounds like your mom's here McCall," Matt said pleasantly.

"Matt don't do this," Scott begged. "When she comes to the door, I'll just tell her to leave. I'll tell her we didn't find anything." The sound of a door opening came. "Please, Matt!"

"If you don't move now, I'm going to kill Zarina first, the Stiles, and finally your mom," he threatened, completely serious.

Stiles sent me a worried glance, but black dots danced in my eyes as the blood seeped from my wound. Stiles and Scott came up to me and Matt was stalking behind them as they walked out to the door.

"Open it!" he commanded. Scott's hand didn't move. "Open. The. Door."

Reluctantly, Scott pulled the door open, revealing Derek and he sighed in relief. "Thank god!"

But Derek fell forward, paralyzed. A half transformed Jackson was standing behind him. I rolled my head back in irritation, but that simple act made the world spin and I stumbled. Stiles wrapped an arm around my waist, steadying me, and I gave him a shaky nod in thanks. Matt crouched by Derek's body.

"This is the one controlling him? This kid?" Derek spat in disbelief.

"Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big bad werewolf," Matt sighed exaggeratedly. "Oh yeah, that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas, Oracles," Matt sent a withering look my way and I felt my heart stop. "It's like a freaking Halloween party every full moon."

Matt turned to Stiles, "Except for you. What do you turn into, Stiles?"

"Abominable snowman," Stiles sarcastically retorted. "But, it's more of a winter time thing, you know. Seasonal."

I would've rolled my eyes, had the room not been spinning so fast. Stiles moved me out of the way, taking Jackson's claws in the back of his neck for me.

"You bitch!" he groaned as he fell forward onto Derek. Scott moved forward slightly, but Jackson held up a finger and shook it back and forth slowly.

"Get him off of me," Derek growled, obviously uncomfortable.

"Oh I don't know, Derek, I think you two make a pretty good pair," Matt grinned as he leaned over their numb bodies. "It must kind of suck, though. All that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless," he taunted.

"Still got some teeth. Why don't you get down here a little closer, huh? See how helpless I am," Derek challenged, teeth bared.

"Yeah, bitch," Stiles' encouraged voice as muffled by Derek's shoulder. I leaned heavily against the doorway, feeling lightheaded.

"Is that her?" Matt stood up as another car drove in. "Do what I tell you and I won't hurt her. I won't even let Jackson near her."

"Scott, no. Don't listen to him," I called out weakly, not wanting Matt to win.

"Shut up," Matt barked at me. "You look a little shaky there. Bet you didn't predict this, now did you?"

I glared at him with as much strength as I could muster. "Go to hell," I snapped.

Matt walked briskly up to me and pushed me to the floor. He pushed his heel into my wound, causing blood to spurt out of it. I screamed in agony.

"This work better for you?" he turned to Scott, pressing down harder with each word. "I wonder how much blood she can lose before she finally just dies already."

"Stop!" Stiles shouted from the floor. "Please, don't hurt her!" His voice seemed far away as the pain overcame me and I felt my breathing grow slower.

"Stop!" Scott begged, watching me helplessly. "Okay, alright! Just stop! Let her go!" Matt's foot left my ribs and I lay there. The only thing I could feel was throbbing and for once I longed for the burning behind my eyes so I could go Oracle on his ass and burn him alive.

"You take them in there," he ordered Jackson and turned back to Scott. "You with me."

They walked out of the room and Jackson dragged Stiles and Derek away, coming back for me after a minute and lifting me up, throwing me onto a couch in the office. The two were on the floor near the desk, looking equally as irritated as the other.

* * *

My breathing came in slow gasps and each time I blinked, my eyelids felt heavier. My ribs were exploding with pain and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked I glared at him. "Sorry, bad question. I know."

"I'll be fine, let's just get out of here," I grunted out. Derek eyed me, looking almost impressed at how I wasn't complaining about the pain.

There were gunshots from outside and a lot of shouting. The three of us stayed quiet, though I was silently worried for everyone that was out there. Luckily, Scott came in a few minutes later, his shirt bloody.

"The evidence is gone. Why don't you just go?" he asked and I could pick out the hints of fear in his voice.

"You-you think the evidence mattered that much, huh?" Matt questioned. "I want the book!"

"What book?" I could picture the confused look on Scott's face.

"The bestiary. Not just a few pages, I want the entire thing," he demanded. Stiles and Derek shared an interested glance and I wondered what was going on in their minds.

"I don't have it. It's Gerard's," Scott told him truthfully. "What do you want it for anyway?"

"I need answers," Matt said, though he was talking more to himself than to Scott. I focused my hearing, trying to forget about the waves of pain in my ribs.

"Answers to what?" Scott reiterated.

"To this!" he lifted his shirt and on his side were scales. Kanima scales. He was turning into a kanima, but why? My mind tried to wrap itself around the idea. The two left the room soon afterwards, leaving us alone with Jackson again.

"You know what's happening to Matt?" Stiles looked towards Derek.

"You know the book's not going to help him," Derek said instead of answering him directly. "You can't just break the rules. Not like this."

"What do you mean?" I asked feebly.

"Universe balances things out. Always does," he articulated.

"is it because he's using Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it?" Stiles offered.

"Killing people himself," Derek added.

"So like karma?" I suggested, trying to figure it out. I shifted my body on the couch gingerly, and stopped promptly when the pain got worse.

"Exactly like karma," Derek agreed.

"So, Matt breaks the rules of the kanima, he becomes the kanima?" Stiles theorized.

"Balance," Derek emphasized.

"Will he believe us if we tell him that?"

"Not likely," he admitted. Of course not. Nothing was ever that simple anymore.

"Okay, he's going to kill all of us when he gets that book, isn't he?" Stiles gulped.

"Yup."

"Alright, so what do we do? Do we just-do we sit here and wait to die?" he sounded frantic and nervous, but I knew we weren't really going to be that submissive so easily.

"Unless, we can trigger the healing process to get the toxins out of my body faster," Derek realized.

"What are you doing?" Stiles looked down and saw him digging his claws into his jeans, causing himself to bleed. "Aw, gross."

As Derek continued to test his presumption on how to heal faster, I felt myself get more and more tired as I laid there on the couch limply. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay awake, much less alive.

* * *

"Hurry up!" I urged Derek as his nails dug deeper into his leg. "Hit a vein. Do something!" My eyes stayed shut longer as I tried to blink the sudden felling of sleepiness away.

"Zarina?" Stiles looked at me from the ground and saw that my eyes were barely open. "Whoa! No, no, no. Don't you fall asleep!"

I couldn't reply as my eyes tried to flutter closed. I fought harder and harder to fight it, but to no avail. It was getting too difficult.

"I'm not…" I trailed off. "…sleeping."

"Yes you are!" Stiles yelled. "C'mon, Z! You can't leave me here."

Derek rolled his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"If you don't stay awake, you know who's going to lose it? Isaac's going to lose it." My eyes seemed to be easier to keep open as he mentioned Isaac. "Yeah, I know about you two and your little thing you have going on and I do not need another depressed teenager to deal with, so don't you even think about closing your damn eyes."

"Alright! They're open and I'm awake. Just please shut up," I pleaded.

The room silenced after this and I blew out a breath in relief. We could occasionally hear Matt yelling, but we ignored it, already used to his loud voice.

"So is that hypothetical situation getting any less hypothetical?" Stiles asked.

"I think so," Derek grunted. "I can move my toes."

"Dude, I can move my toes," he sighed resignedly. I knew that Derek wasn't going to heal any faster and I felt anxiety build in the pit of my stomach. Maybe we really would die.

Gunfire went off outside and smoke billowed into the room. I had no choice but to cough, sending my ribs into larger fits of pain. Derek looked like he might actually be able to move, but Stiles remained still. Scott came in and moved towards me, but I shook my head.

"Take Stiles," I commanded. "He needs more help than me."

Scott looked reluctant, but grabbed our friend, heaving him over his shoulder.

"No! Zarina's hurt! Take her!" Stiles tried to protest, but Scott already carried him out of the room. Derek crawled towards me and handed me a police baton, his arm held out for me. I looked at it, incredulous, knowing what he wanted me to do.

"No way," I told him, indignant. "I can't do this."

"You can and you will," he growled and I gulped nervously, sitting up on the couch carefully.

"Here we go," I breathed out and slammed the stick down on his arm harshly. There was a loud crack as the limb broke and Derek howled in pain. I grimaced and threw the baton away from me. Derek's face shifted. His eyes glowed red and his ears were pointed.

"Stay here," he instructed and left. I hoped that he was going to help Scott, or at least find some help.

I laid myself back down on the couch, trying to block out the gunshots sounding from outside the door. I was freaking out internally and I was in immense amounts of pain, but I stood up as slowly as possible. The room felt like it was turning upside down as I did so, but I steeled myself and headed to where I heard people struggling. I needed to help somehow. I had to.

I stumbled into the holding cell room when I heard screaming, and I gripped the doorframe as Matt hit the sheriff over the head with a gun. Mrs. McCall was in the cell, looking terrified and pale as Matt came up to her.

"Don't!" I yelled and ran as fast as I could, tackling Matt to the ground. From behind us, I heard Derek growling and fighting it out with the kanima, but I couldn't focus on it as Matt struggled under me.

He got the upper hand and elbowed me in my ribs, causing me to fall off of him, letting out cries of pain. Matt glanced at me, then back at the kanima before running out of the room. I grit my teeth and pressed my forehead against the cold floor. It was too much. It hurt too much.

I heard the loud smack of Derek being tossed into a wall and the kanima stepped over me and hissed at Melissa through the cell bars. I looked up at them from the floor, wishing I could stop it, but I didn't have to. Scott walked in, glowing eyes and face wolfish. He saw me on the ground and snarled, jabbing his claws in the kanima and throwing it away from his mother.

"Scott?" Melissa's voice cracked.

He nodded and took a deep breath before straightening up and looking her straight in the face. She gasped in fear and stepped back, backing up further and further into the cell. Scott looked down at me and I saw the sadness in his expression before he ran out of the room.

"Zarina," Melissa hurried back over to the bars when she saw me bleeding. "What happened?"

"Matt…shot me….I can't…" I flinched my side throbbed.

"No, no you have to stay awake," she instructed firmly. "Don't go to sleep, not yet."

"I'm sorry," I muttered before the black dots in my vision grew, engulfing me in darkness.

* * *

**AN: ****_Zarina doesn't get a break, does she? LOL. Poor girl. There's only 2 (i think?) episodes left of season 2! Well that went by fast, didn't itttt? Super excited to start season 3 omg so much planned. Gon' be goood._**

**_Next chapter I promise you'll get some visions, backstory on Zarina's parents, Peter sass, and some super fluffly Zarissac/Stirina moments. SO BEAR WITH ME PLEASE. I'm doing as best as I can. :)_**

**_Thanks for all the reviews/faves/follows! All of it is appreciated and cherished. Please continue all of that if you're liking the story. Stay sassy, my friends._**

**_xx._**


	12. Twelve

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Go on.**

* * *

_"Mom? Dad?"_

_"Alex! Call 911!"_

_"Who did this to my parents? Why would they do this?"_

_"Please save them. Do anything you have to, just, please."_

_"Are they going to be okay?"_

_"I hope so."_

_"Alex, Zarina. We're sorry to tell you this, but your parents didn't make it."_

_"No….no. Alex, let me go! We didn't get to say goodbye! Let me go!"_

_"Zarina, stop it! They're gone! We were too late, okay?"_

_"….we didn't get to say goodbye…"_

My eyes shot open. The first thing I was aware of was the slight throbbing in my rib area and the oh-so familiar beep of a heart monitor, which was beeping rapidly as the memories invaded my dreams.

I looked around the hospital room, hating the smell of antiseptics and bleach and hating how much the atmosphere reminded me of my parents. I felt uneasy. It'd been a while since I had a nightmare about my parents passing. Maybe it was just the hospital getting to me, I thought.

Beside me, Stiles was sitting in a chair, holding my right hand as his head lolled back sleepily. I smiled. He must've been here since the police station incident. I checked the clock on the wall. 2 PM. Had it really been 12 hours? It felt like a lifetime. And Stiles was right beside me the entirety of that lifetime. I could picture him fighting the nurses to let him stay in my room with me and I chuckled at the thought.

He jerked awake at the sound of my laugh and sat straighter in his chair, eyes still clouded with sleep.

"Zarina?" he asked, voice husky.

"Hey," I greeted weakly. His face grew into a large smile and the one on my face widened too. "You were here the entire time?"

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Y-Yeah. I know how much you hate hospitals, so I figured you wouldn't want to wake up alone in one, y'know?"

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

"It's no big deal," he replied, cheeks reddening.

"No, seriously," I squeezed his hand in the special way we always did. "It means a lot. It is a big deal."

"Anything for you," he bit his lip and I looked straight into his big brown doe eyes. I never noticed the golden specks in them until then. They were nice and I found it easy to lose myself in them.

He cleared his throat and changed the subject, interrupting my thoughts. "So, how are you feeling? Does it hurt?"

"Not as much," I pursed my lips. "That's probably just 'cause the aspirin though. What happened while I was in here?"

Stiles immediately looked solemn, "Matt, he's uh, he's dead. Gerard drowned him."

My body went shock still. The breath I was releasing got caught in my throat and I felt my mouth open in surprise. Matt was…dead? Don't get me wrong, the guy was insane and completely off his rocker, but he didn't deserve to die. Not like that. He was still a teenager, just like us.

"Oh my god," I whispered, swiping at the tears that sprung to my eyes. "Why?"

Stiles shrugged. "We don't know yet."

"I can't," I faltered, "I can't believe this. I mean, wow. That's…so weird."

"Yeah, I know," he laughed humorlessly. "I'm not sure how to feel about it, either."

I nodded slowly, agreeing. A part of me just wanted to go back to sleep and pretend that I was just making all of this up. This was a lot to take in. Too much.

* * *

Sometime after our talk, I convinced Stiles to go home and get some actual sleep. He argued frantically, unwilling to leave me alone, but he eventually gave up when I showed no signs of relenting. I don't know how long I sat there, drowning in my thoughts, but soon my brother was walking in, clad in scrubs and clipboard in hand.

"Hi," he gave me a tiny smile.

"Alex," I sighed out, opening my arms. He immediately dropped his clipboard on my bedside table and wrapped me into his arms, letting out a breath I knew he had been holding. I didn't even care that my ribs were starting to hurt again.

"You don't know how worried I was," he whispered into my hair. "I thought you were going to leave me like mom and dad."

I sniffled and shook my head against his chest. "No, never," I said quietly. "I won't leave you, I promise."

"Good," he murmured and I laughed, the sound muffled by his shirt. He pulled away and picked up his clipboard again, eyes glistening. "I thought you were going to stay out of trouble."

"Trouble usually just finds me," I shrugged, leaning back against my pillow.

"You got that right," Alex rolled his eyes and did the routine of checking my vitals. When he finished, he gave me one final kiss on the head before walking out of my room.

Not 10 minutes later, someone climbed in through the window and I started.

"Just me, don't worry," Isaac walked towards the bed. "Heard about what happened from Derek."

I smiled lightly, "Yeah, not my finest hour, I'll admit."

He chuckled and moved a piece of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry I'm coming so late. I would've come earlier, but the full moon…"

"It's fine," I nodded, understanding, "I know it was a tough night for you, too. I'm not going to nag you about it."

"I'm so glad," he sighed over exaggeratedly. "I was preparing myself for the whole 'oh my god, you're so inconsiderate' lecture."

"You know what? On second thought, I think I will nag you," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Please don't," he pouted, sitting on my bed. "I'll be a good boy."

I scoffed, "You're such a child, Lahey."

"Only for you, Carlisle."

He wrapped his arms around my torso and I felt heat crawl up my neck. Isaac chuckled and his lips inched closer to mine.

"You should- uh – go before Derek kills you," I stuttered, glancing at his lips.

"Right," he said, leaning closer.

"And," I gulped shakily, "My brother might come in – or something."

"Mhm," he said.

"He'd kill _me_ for having a boy in my room," my voice was above a whisper.

"Please shut up," Isaac muttered.

"What?" I raised and eyebrow, offended.

"Just shut up and kiss me," he replied, closing the space between us.

I relaxed and felt all nervousness slip away as I tugged him closer to me. He chuckled against my lips and I felt his tongue lick my bottom lip. I shivered pleasantly and let our tongues meet, sending sparks down my spine. A groan emitted from the back of his throat as I pulled away, feeling lightheaded.

"Why?" he whined like a child, still holding me.

"Because, as much as I love this, we're in a hospital room," I grinned at his behavior. "And my ribs are starting to hurt again."

Isaac quickly pulled away from me, not wanting me to get hurt, and I stifled a laugh at his worried expression. He checked his phone as it vibrated and he sighed as he read the message.

"Derek?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said he wants me back at the station," he paused, reading the second message Derek sent, and paled. "Now."

I smirked, "Told you he'd get angry."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon," he rolled his eyes and kissed me sweetly before heading towards the window in the room.

Once he slipped out of the window, I gulped down the aspirin on my bedside table that Alex had left me. Soon, I felt my eyelids droop as the sudden drowsiness of the medicine hit me, and laid my head on the rough hospital pillow.

* * *

"Is there anything on your mind?" Ms. Morrell asked as I sat uncomfortably in the chair in front of her desk.

A few days after being hospitalized, I was finally allowed to leave and sadly, I had to go to school.

"Matt's death, maybe?" she suggested softly.

I scowled, "What about it?"

"How do you feel about it?" she inquired, leaning forward on her desk.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I feel like I shouldn't care because he was insane and a creep for what he did to Allison, but…"

"But, what?" she quirked a brow.

"For some reason I just pity him," I finished.

"Pity him?" Ms. Morrell sounded confused.

"He made so many bad decisions. He killed numerous people, shot and could've killed me, basically ruined his own life," I explained. "And to die without getting the chance to make up for all that is just sad."

"It's understandable to feel that way," she agreed. "Is that all you're feeling about the topic?"

"Pretty much," I lied. I felt sort of uncomfortable that I'd already shared such a big part of my mind with her. I wasn't eager to share anything else.

"I don't think that's true," she told me. "You must've shown up for a reason. These sessions aren't mandatory, you know that."

I bit my lip. I was aware of that. I honestly didn't know why I'd come. I guess I just needed someone else's perspective on things for once.

"I feel so distressed. I almost died. I was a few minutes of blood loss away from completely dying, that's what they said. That scares me. How easily it could've been for me to just die," I admitted. "And, I don't even know why, but even when I'm in a room full of people, I just feel alone."

"Why's that?" she questioned.

"Because no one, no matter how many times they try to say they do, will understand what I'm going through," I clarified softly.

"Do you mean with Matt," she started, "or your parents?"

I stiffened, "What do they have to do with this?" My voice was sharp, cold.

"What you're feeling is because you have a fear of people leaving you, which is what you're convinced your parents did," she explained kindly. "You're so scared of it, that you actually push people away to keep it from happening. You can't let this become a detriment to your future, Zarina. You have to learn to let people in. Not everyone's going to leave you."

"They were murdered!" I shot back sharply. "I'm pretty aware that they didn't leave me by choice. Someone killed my parents, so excuse me for having issues with trusting everyone I meet."

"I'm just tired. I'm so, so tired of pretending to be this strong, independent girl that can take the world on my own. I'm going to break if I keep it up any longer," I continued, voice small as I spoke.

"Don't you have someone that'll be there to pick up the pieces if you do break?" Ms. Morrell asked.

My mind immediately went to Stiles, who, without fail, has proven that he was one, if not the only, of the people who would be there to glue my broken pieces back together.

Sure, I knew that Isaac would gladly be there for me, but our relationship…I wasn't sure if there was one. There was still trust to be earned and given.

"Yeah," I nodded slowly. "I think I do."

"Then why don't you let them know how you're feeling? Get some weight off your chest?" she suggested.

"There's too much going on," I said vaguely. "We don't exactly have time for sitting around a campfire and sharing our feelings."

"What could be so important that you can't tell him about the internal war you have going on?" she queried.

"Just school," I said lamely. "Family things. Stuff like that."

I knew Ms. Morrell could tell I was lying, but she didn't point it out, instead letting me live in my own delusional fantasy that I could bottle up all my feelings and things would be okay.

* * *

I walked into the vet's office, bells chiming overhead. I heard Deaton and Scott bustling around in the back room, so I headed towards them. I saw that they were huddled over a sick dog and I inched closer to it sympathetically.

"Hey Scott, Deaton," I smiled up at them and Scott hugged me briefly.

"I'm so sorry I barely visited you in the hospital," he apologized.

I waved my hand in the air dismissively, "It's fine. I was asleep half the time anyways."

We shared a laugh and I returned my attention to the fragile looking animal on the table. The bell to the front door suddenly chimed and a few seconds afterwards, Isaac came into the room, looking torn. When he saw me, he walked up to me and kissed my temple before turning to the dog on the counter.

Deaton was giving the dog a shot while Scott held the animal down on the table gently. The two of us watched as they did so, but Isaac scrunched his face up as he sniffed the air.

"Why does it smell like that?" he asked. Deaton and Scott shared a look. "What?"

"Scott said almost the same thing to me a few months ago," Deaton answered, smiling. "One day he could somehow tell between which animals were getting better and which," he gazed sadly at the dog, "are not."

Isaac's face fell considerably and I felt my heart reach out for the poor dog. "He's not getting better is he?" The doctor shook his head. "Is it cancer?"

"Osteosarcoma," he clarified. "Has a very distinct scent, doesn't it?"

The two werewolves nodded and I simply kept watching the poor dog as it lay feebly on the table. It reminded me of myself in the hospital. Weak, hurt, and unable to do anything but lay there for who knows how long.

"Come here," Deaton instructed Isaac. I nudged the taller boy and he walked up closer to the table. "I know you're well aware of what your new abilities could do for you. Improved strength, speed, and healing," Deaton sends the dog another look, "Ever wonder what it could do for others?"

I glanced at Scott, who seemed to be excited for what Deaton was going to show us. He had probably gone through the exact same lesson earlier. I watched closely as Deaton took Isaac's hand and placed it on top of the dog. His veins grew black and prominent from his hand to his forearm and Isaac pulled his hand away frantically.

"What did I do?" he turned to the doctor.

"You took some of his pain away," Scott responded.

"Only a little but, but sometimes a little can make quite the different," Deaton added and I smiled as Isaac sniffed his wrist in amazement.

"It's okay," Scott said, "First time he showed me, I cried too."

I giggled lightly as Isaac's tear filled eyes crinkled at the edges in glee, a large smile breaking out on his face. He looked proud of himself. Like he'd finally done something right. Something meaningful.

Deaton left the room to put the supplies away and the room grew silent. The torn look on Isaac's face returned and I looked at him worriedly.

"They're leaving tonight, during the game," Isaac broke the silence.

"So, why are you telling us?" Scott raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not telling you. I'm asking you. Both of you. I'm asking for advice."

"From us, why?" I probed.

"Because I trust you two," Isaac replied simply.

"Why?" Scott tilted his head.

"Because you two always seem to want to do the right thing," he explained.

Scott and I shared a look. "Yeah, we usually have no idea what we're doing," I said meekly.

"Actually, we _always_ have no idea what we're doing," Scott corrected and I nodded.

"Hm," Isaac hummed. "Do you want to let me know what you're doing right now?"

"I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you mean," my friend said. "I have too many people here who need me."

"Well I guess that makes me lucky 'cause uh," Isaac sent me a guilty glance. "I don't have anyone, so."

I felt like someone ripped out my heart and stomped on it ruthlessly, then shoved it back inside my chest, expecting it to function.

"Oh," I whispered, voice cracking. "Yeah, you really are lucky, aren't you?" My voice was full of sarcasm and bitterness, that everyone in the room was surprised, even myself.

Scott looked down at me sadly, like he could feel the hurt radiating off me. I was sure that he could, and I hoped Isaac would feel it too because he deserved to feel how hard his words hit me.

"I should go," my voice was quiet. "I'll see you later, Scott."

My friend pulled me into a tight hug and let me go. As I left, I didn't glance up at Isaac or even turn around when he tried to call out to me. No, I walked forward and kept my head low. Isaac didn't need me. He said he didn't have anyone. Even when I was there for him and showed him how much I cared for him whenever I was able to.

I felt myself slowly deteriorate. The façade of the brave girl I kept up was breaking with each step I took away from Isaac, just like I'd told Ms. Morrell. As I walked out of the clinic, the backs of my eyes held a burning sensation I hadn't felt in days and I was swept away into the events of the future.

_"Scott McCall finds his best friend bloodied and beaten to a pulp. How does that sound?" Gerard Argent was gripping Stiles' jersey in a fist and my best friend was on his knees. _

_We were in a basement of some sort and I could see Erica and Boyd tied up behind Stiles, electrical tape on their mouths and their arms tied up above their heads._

_"I think I might prefer more of a still life or landscape, you know? What- what are you, 90? Look, I can probably kick your ass up and down this room," Stiles retorted sarcastically._

_I wanted to yell at him for being so stupid, but Gerard punched him in the face harder than I thought possible, causing his head to whip to the side. _

Stiles was the only thing on my mind when my eyes refocused onto the sidewalk in front of me. I had to take control of the future for once instead of letting it take control of me.

* * *

I found Stiles standing next to Ms. McCall in the boys' locker room, just in time to hear coach start his annual speech. I stood beside my friend and he offered me a smile, which I returned as best as I could. The image of Gerard hurting him was still fresh in my mind.

"Good morning!" Finstock began. "In less than an hour, aircrafts from here will be joining others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind."

"What?" I glanced at Melissa, who looked completely lost.

"Mankind-that word should have a new meaning for all of us today." Finstock said, looking around at the players and I stifled a grin.

"What is he talking about?" Ms. McCall tapped Stiles' shoulder.

"He does this every year," he informed her.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," he replied before Coach continued.

"We are fighting for the right to live!" Finstock shoulder and the locker room cheered.

Stiles didn't participate, just simply watched, already anticipating what was coming next.

"Wait, is this..?" Melissa began asking and we both nodded.

"It's the speech from Independence Day," I confirmed.

"But as the day the world declared in one voice…."

"It's coach's favorite movie," Stiles told us.

"We will not go quietly into the night!"

"He doesn't know any sport speeches?" Ms. McCall questioned in disbelief.

"Or anything related to, oh I don't know, sports?" I inserted.

"I don't think he cares," Stiles sighed.

"Today is our Independence Day!" Finstock finished with a satisfied grin. Everyone who occupied the locker room cheered loudly and I even saw Scott smile lightly.

"Well spoken, coach," Gerard came from behind. "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value, but there's no denying your passion."

I went rigid and I looked at Stiles concernedly from the corner of my eye. I didn't want him getting near my best friend, not after what I saw. I made a quick grab for Stiles' hand and he gladly accepted it.

"And while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school," the grin on Gerard's face could be described as diabolical. "I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co-captain leading you."

I turned my head to face Scott, who looked just as surprised as I felt. This was news to all of us.

"Now, I'm your principal, but I'm also a fan. So don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team," Gerard continued. "Get out there and murder them."

The blood drained from Stiles' face and I felt my stomach churn uncomfortably. His hand was starting to clench around mine firmly and I rubbed comforting circles onto the back of his hand.

"You heard the man! Asses on the field!" Finstock yelled and everyone left the locker room.

"Are you gonna be okay?" I looked up at him and he nodded, though not as confidently as he might've liked to.

"Hopefully," he replied. "Let's go."

The two of us walked out of the locker room and before Stiles could let go of my hand, I pulled him closer to me.

"Please be careful," I whispered.

"I never play, I'll be fine," he said, confused.

"No, I mean, around Gerard," I clarified.

"What do you mean?" I groaned as he didn't seem to understand.

"Earlier, I had a vision that-" coach's whistle cut me off.

"Stilinski! Bench, now!" he yelled, blowing his whistle multiple times.

Stiles rolled his eyes and released my hand before running to the bench. I watched him go, completely anxious, but made my way up the bleachers anyway. I sat by Mr. Stilinski and Ms. McCall, smiling at them politely.

"How are you?" the sheriff asked and I knew he was still worried about me. "Any trouble since…you know?"

"I'm feeling better," I lied through my teeth. "Everything's been pretty calm, so I think I'll be back to myself in no time."

If they could sense I was lying, they didn't say anything, which I was grateful for.

There was too much on my mind to answer any more questions. Isaac left and the last thing I heard him say was basically that I was no one to him. Stiles was going to get taken by Gerard. Scott had to make sure Jackson didn't kill anyone and I had to make sure he didn't get hurt while doing so. I was on overload.

"Get the hell out there!" I heard Finstock scream and my heart jumped. Stiles scrambled off the bench and put his gear on. My mouth turned upwards into a large smile. Stiles looked up at me, fist pumping in excitement while he mouthed to me that he was going to play.

"Why is my son getting on the field?" the sheriff asked and I giggled.

"Because he's on the team?" Melissa suggested and the sheriff started to grin.

"He is," he agreed and the two parents nodded. "He's on the team. He's-he's on the field. My son is on the field!" He stood up in excitement, but slowly sat back down as the other occupants of the crowd gave him odd looks.

Soon, Lydia came and sat down next to me, sending the parents and I a smile. I greeted her and turned my attention back to the field.

All I could do at the moment was watch as the players ran back and forth across the field. Then, from my peripheral vision, I saw a person with the jersey #14 slide on the bench next to Scott. My heart pumped against my ribcage. He didn't leave. He was safe.

Stiles wasn't doing very well. He was getting tackled over and over and I flinched when he was knocked to the ground after catching the ball. Isaac had been sent in a few minutes previous and he slammed harshly into one of our team's players. Greenberg was sent in afterwards.

I vaguely wondered what Isaac was doing as he kept knocking player after player onto the ground. Then I saw the small amount of people on the bench and I connected it in my head. He was trying to get Scott into the game so he could get to Jackson.

"You know what? It's okay, maybe he's just getting warmed up," I justified weakly when Stiles got knocked down. Again. Lydia gave me a skeptical look and I sighed.

I shot to my feet when Jackson slammed into Isaac harshly. I was already on the field as Isaac fell to the ground and I knelt beside him, Scott following in suit.

"It's not broken, but I can't move it," Isaac grunted out, looking at me. The paramedics began to lift him onto a stretcher. "I think Jackson nicked me 'cause I can feel it spreading."

He was carried off the field and I stood at the first step of the bleachers, watching as Scott pulled on his helmet and ran onto the field. I sighed in relief, but stopped when I saw Gerard walking towards the locker room. I followed him, wanting to stop whatever plan he had been brewing.

* * *

The locker room was dark and I had to take a second for my eyes to adjust before entering. Isaac was crawling on the ground, moving away from Gerard, who was standing above him. Two Hunters stood beside him, smirking down at the werewolf.

"This would be more poetic if it was half-time," Gerard said, pulling out a sword.

I felt my eyes turn white as the anger bubbled in my stomach. Isaac struggled to stand and Gerard stalked towards him, sword raised. Isaac noticed me and a tiny smirk grew on his face when he saw my white eyes. I focused my eyes on Gerard and soon he dropped the sword, hands sweltering.

The two Hunters turned to me, poised to attack, by my eyes moved to them, burning them at their throats. They fell to the ground, clutching at their necks and I looked around for Gerard, but he was nowhere to be seen. I clenched my eyes shut and willed the burning away, surprised when it followed my command. I reopened my eyes and walked up to Isaac, who was leaning against the sinks.

"You're not gone," I said finally.

"Guess I'm not," he looked down at me and I licked my lips.

"But I thought you didn't have a reason to stay," I shot out coldly.

"I'm sorry," Isaac apologized softly. "I'm not even going to try and justify what I said because I always end up saying or doing stupid things and you get hurt."

"Yeah, no kidding," I scoffed. This was the third time he'd done something to hurt me, purposely or not.

"I don't deserve you, I know that much," he continued. "But I want to. I want to be with you. I don't want to just kiss you whenever I want. I want to be able to call you my girlfriend, but I get it if you don't think I deserve that."

I looked up at him and when I saw nothing but sincerity, I bit my lip. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to be with him, too, but a part of me said he'd used up all of the chances he was given to prove that I should trust him. Still, I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth.

"You get one chance, Lahey," I pointed at his chest. "You screw this up, don't expect another one."

He grinned and lowered his head so his face was level with mine. "Wouldn't dream of it," he whispered before pressing his lips to mine.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled into the kiss. He pulled away and pecked my lips one more time as someone entered the locker room. We kept our arms around each other, but looked to the side as Scott came in.

"Oh, sorry," Scott said. "I-I thought Gerard- never mind."

"We kind of dealt with him," Isaac smiled lightly. "So we're good here."

"Ah, I see," Scott said slowly. "Well, uh, see you guys later. Bye, Rina."

"B-Bye, Scotty," I replied awkwardly.

My best friend gave me a sly wink before exiting and I laughed into Isaac's jersey. What a nice start to a relationship.

* * *

Isaac and I sprinted onto the dark field. People were running and panicking and Isaac kept a firm grip on my arm when the frantic crowd pushed me around. Someone on the field was hurt.

"Jackson!" Lydia cried out and we hurried towards the group huddled around Jackson's body. Melissa was kneeling over his chest, head pressed firmly where his heart would be. His claws were bloody and his skin was torn.

"He stabbed himself?" I looked up at Scott, who nodded. "Why?"

"Lift his head up," Melissa commanded Lydia, "Do it!"

Lydia did as she was told and we watched as Melissa tried to restart his heart. I looked around and noticed someone was missing. Ice ran through my veins.

"Have you seen Stiles?" I looked around desperately.

"No," Scott shook his head, looking at Jackson.

I felt my stomach twist and churn and I felt myself start to breath unevenly. Isaac looked down at me, worried.

"Where'd he go?" I asked, needing to know my prediction hadn't come true. Not yet. "Stiles!" I called, turning in slow circles.

Sheriff Stilinski ran up to me and already knowing what he was going to say, I shook my head. I felt guilt rise up in my stomach.

"Stiles!" I called out again, voice cracking.

Isaac grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to calm me down. "Hey, breathe. It's okay."

"No it's not!" I yelled. "He's gone and I couldn't stop it. It's all my fault."

"Has anyone seen my son?!" the sheriff cried out and I felt the tears stream down my cheeks.

"Stiles," I covered my mouth with my hands. "I tried to warn him! I tried!"

"Shh," Isaac pulled me into his arms and I tried to struggle against him, sobs escaping my mouth.

I finally felt weak after a minute and I fell against my boyfriend, sobbing into his jersey-clad chest. He kept his arms firmly around my waist so I wouldn't start to struggle again and he rubbed my back comfortingly. Gerard took Stiles and I ruined my only chance to try and keep my best friend, my Batman, safe.

* * *

"I gotta meet with the medical examiner and find out what happened with Jackson," Sheriff Stilinski read from his notepad in front of Scott, Isaac, and I. The locker room was bustling with players and police officers.

"I've got an APB on Stiles. His jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means-" he stopped. "Hell, I don't know what that means. If he answers his phone, his emails, if you see him-"

"We'll call you," Isaac assured him.

The sheriff nodded at us and looked at my blank, guilt-ridden expression before walking over to the medical examiner.

"Is that everyone?" Scott asked as the locker room was emptied.

Isaac double-checked and nodded. Scott popped the lock off of Stiles' locker haphazardly, taking out shoes and a shirt.

"I can find him by scent," Scott said.

"He's with Gerard," I told them. "I saw this happen, I should've been able to stop it."

"Stop blaming yourself. You only see things, you don't know when they're going to happen," his expression as soft. "But, do you know where he took him?" I shook my head.

"They were in a basement, I think," I replied. "I'm sorry, that's so vague. I'm useless."

"You're doing your best. This can't be easy," Isaac rubbed my back and I nodded, not really listening to his words.

"We need to talk," we turned to Derek as he walked up to us.

"All of us," Peter came up from behind him and I immediately felt a mixture of anger and fear. The anger won out.

"How could you?" I yelled at Derek. "He used you for his morbid plot to get his life back!"

"How'd you know that?" Derek asked, taken aback.

"I saw it before it even happened," I replied harshly. "And the only reason I **see** shit like that is because of him! Now I'm pretty much losing my goddamn mind!" I pointed at Peter, who was smirking cockily in the background.

Scott pushed me behind him and Isaac wrapped an arm around my waist, calming me down somewhat.

"What the hell is this?" Scott asked, blocking me from Peter's vision.

"I thought the same thing when I saw you with Gerard," Derek shot back.

"He threatened to kill my mom!" Scott defended himself.

"I'm going to go with Scott on this one," Peter piped up and I shuddered in disgust at his voice. "I mean have you see her? Hot." He rocked back on his heels.

"Shut up," Derek, Scott, and I spat at him at the same time.

"Who is he?" he whispered to Scott and I.

"That's Peter Derek's uncle," Scott started.

"He bit me and Scott for his own benefit," I added bitterly.

"And a little while back he tried to kill us all, so we set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat," my friend finished our little synopsis.

"Good to know," Isaac mumbled under his breath and tightened his hold on my waist.

"He knows how to stop Jackson. Maybe how to save him," Derek announced.

"Well, that is very helpful, but Jackson's dead," Isaac told them.

"What?" Derek and Peter bit out.

"Yeah, it just happened on the field," Scott explained. The Hales shared a glance.

"Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?" Isaac asked.

"Because if Jackson's dead, it didn't just happen. Gerard wanted it to happen," Peter clarified. "And we need to figure out why. Something tells me the window of opportunity is closing quickly."

"Great, so we're gonna take advice from this psychopath, now?" I hissed. "What do you know?"

"A lot more than you do," he turned to me calmly. "About a lot of things."

I felt myself jolt as I realized the double meaning behind his words. He knew I'd turn into an Oracle. That's why he bit me. He had it all planned out from the beginning. I was just a pawn in his little game.

* * *

**AN: ****_So Zarisaac is a couple. YAY COUPLES. And one more chapter til' Season 2 is done. Once Season 3 starts, ooh Zarina's going to be having some very very unhappy times. PLUS SINCE ALLISAAC IS GOING TO BE CANON STARTING IN SEASON 3 ZARISAAC IS GONNA TAKE A BLOW IN THE BALLS...well, you can interpret that however you will._**

**_I see all you new Stirina shippers out there, too, don't think I'm gonna forget about that. Zarisaac is a thing...for now. MWAHAH. I've got things up my sleeve, don't you worry._**

**_Thanks so much for the massive support. I can't believe how far I've gotten with this story and that's honestly all thanks to you guys. I try hard to update everyday cause it's easy since I'm starting from the already finished season, but school is a drag and homework is even worse, so I apologize if my streak is ruined soon._**

**_Please try to fave/follow/review if you liked itttt._**

**_xx._**


	13. Thirteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Let's finish this season, shall we?**

* * *

Too reluctant to stay near Peter's presence for longer than I had to, I forced Derek to drive me to Stiles' house. I thought that maybe since I couldn't prevent it, I could at least help them find him. The guilt was eating me alive. I had to do something, anything.

Before letting me leave the car, Isaac kissed my temple and promised he'd keep me safe. I had responded by rolling my eyes and saying that I recalled saving his ass not too long ago, but he didn't give me the sassy response I was expecting. Instead, he looked at me seriously and said, "Just let me protect you," and let me slide out of the car.

I was sitting on Stiles' bed, listening to the quiet murmur of the sheriff calling people to see if they'd seen him. I felt myself close my eyes, trying to block out the sudden wave of sadness I was feeling. I pulled my knees to my chest and scooted further onto the bed.

"Stiles, where are you?" I whispered to myself.

"Right here," my eyes shot open and I fell out of the bed, standing up when I saw Stiles himself leaning against his doorway.

"Oh my god, Stiles!" I ran up to him and threw myself onto his body, causing him to stumble back a few steps. "You're okay."

His arms wrapped around me and I felt a sigh of relief leave my mouth. He was really here. "Nice to see you too," he chuckled into my hair.

I pulled my head away from his neck to look up at him. I stifled a gasp as I observed his bruised cheek and swollen lip. I used one hand to gently touch his cheek, but kept the other one firmly around his neck, scared he was going to disappear again. Stiles flinched as I touched it, but otherwise, stayed still, his eyes locked on my face warmly.

"Gerard did this, didn't he?" I asked him softly and his arms tightened around me.

"How'd you know?" he inquired as my hand dropped from his face to his neck.

"I saw it happen," I bit my lip, looking away. "I was trying to warn you at the game, but I never got the chance."

"Stop," his voice was firm and I looked back up at him. "I know you're blaming yourself right now. Don't."

"I can't help it," my eyes were pleading. "I could've – I should have been there to stop him. But I wasn't."

"You can't be Batgirl all the time," he replied somewhat teasingly, reminding me of our nicknames for each other. "Even she can't save everyone."

"Not without Batman," I smiled. "And she really thought she lost him tonight."

"Well, she's not going to get rid of him that easily," he smirked. I laughed and buried my face into his neck again, taking in the familiar scent of laundry and cologne.

My phone vibrated and I pulled it out, breaking apart from our embrace. It was Scott, asking if Stiles was back. I replied, saying he was and put my phone back into my pocket. Stiles walked into his room and I followed him inside, sitting on his desk chair.

"Hey, read this," I showed him a text that Scott sent me that said that Jackson wasn't dead and he needed us to get Lydia to help us out with getting him back to normal.

"This is a nightmare," Stiles groaned, sitting back down on his bed. "Jackson's going to kill us all."

"I don't care, I'm going to help," I got up determinedly.

"See, that's the problem," Stiles got up, grabbing my arm harshly as I went to the door, pulling me so I faced him. "You-you don't care about getting hurt. But you know how I'll feel? I'll be devastated. And if you die, I'll go out of my freaking mind."

I stayed silent, half surprised about how strongly he felt about this and half infuriated that he was actually making me rethink my decision to help.

"You see, death doesn't happen to you, Zarina," he continued lividly, his hand leaving my arm. "It happens to everyone around you, okay? To all the people left standing at your funeral, trying to figure out how they're gonna live the rest of their lives now without you in it. Huh?"

Tears gathered in my eyes as he inched closer to me, eyes blazing with a new type of fire that I'd never seen in them before. My gut clenched and I felt ashamed to even look at him in the eye, but I also didn't dare look away.

"And look at my face!" he raised his voice. "Come on, you actually think this was meant to hurt me?!"

He was in my face at this point and I flinched away, tears escaping my eyelids and my heart stopping in my chest. I bit my trembling lip and backed away from him slowly. His face fell and he looked remorseful when he saw that I was crying.

"Z," he said softly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to"-

"It's okay," I wiped the tears from my face and turned away. "I'll help them myself."

"Hey, no. Wait," he called out, but I was already going down his steps hurriedly.

I shut the front door behind me with a soft slam and I started walking down the street, towards Lydia's house. It was probably 5 miles away and on foot, it'd take forever, but someone had to get her.

About half a mile into my walk, a familiar blue jeep pulled up beside me and I stopped, looking into the open window. Stiles was grinning at me sheepishly.

"So," he said slowly. "Lydia?"

I smiled and hopped into the front seat. "I was starting to wonder when you'd show up."

"Can't let you take all the credit for saving the day," he glanced at me as he drove to the Martin's. "We're a team, remember?"

I turned my head to him and nodded.

* * *

Lydia seemed to already know what we were going to do when we picked her up because she bounded out of her house, a key in hand.

"What's that?" I asked her as she settled in the back seat.

"It's something I've been meaning to give back to Jackson for a while now," she replied cryptically.

I glanced at Stiles, silently asking if he knew what she meant, but he shook his head, equally as confused as me. I gave him the address that Scott sent me in his text and when we got to the giant building, we sat in the car, wondering what to do.

"Do we just…go in?" I asked.

"The front door would be too obvious," Lydia reasoned. "We need to be more spontaneous. Take them by surprise."

"Good idea, but ho- OH MY GOD," I yelled as Stiles pushed down on the gas pedal, driving us straight through the brick wall. His eyes were tightly closed and I felt the seatbelt jerk me backwards as the car hit something hard.

"Did I get him?" Stiles asked, opening his eyes. "Whoa!"

Jackson got jumped onto the hood of the car and me and Stiles let out screams as we scrambled out of the jeep, Lydia close behind us. Stiles and I ran towards Scott, but she stood in front of Jackson bravely.

"Lydia! What are you doing?" I yelled, going to save her, but Stiles tugged me back, shaking his head at me. I spotted Isaac and Derek across from us.

"Jackson. Jackson!" Lydia yelled. The kanima was close to her face. "Here," she lifted the key and Jackson's features shifted and his claws wrapped around the key.

"Lydia?" he breathed her name out in horror and his face became distorted.

She nodded, tears flooding her eyes. Jackson engulfed her in a hug and stepped back after a second, sending a nod to Derek. The werewolf rolled to his feet and ran past my friend.

I watched in silent terror as he jabbed his claws into Jackson's stomach and Peter did the same into his back. The two men lifted him into the air and Lydia was full on crying as she watched. Jackson fell to his knees after they let him go and Lydia hurried to him cupping his face. The Hales stepped back.

"Do you-do you-" Jackson sputtered out.

"I do. I do still love you," Lydia responded, voice cracking as the tears fell down her usually unblemished cheeks. Jackson's eyes closed slowly and the kanima pattern on his body disappeared.

Lydia laid her torso across Jackson's lifeless body and sobbed. I felt tears spring to my eyes and I grasped Stiles' arm tightly. She turned to us and nodded slowly, telling us he was really dead.

Suddenly, a sound that was much like claws scraping at a chalkboard sounded and Lydia whirled around, hair flying. Jackson stood, completely naked, and his face was in a wolf form. He roared loudly and I gasped. Lydia ran over to him and they hugged each other like lifelines.

I looked up at Stiles, who looked back down at me with a smile, though his eyes were shiny with tears.

"You did good, Batman," I said quietly.

"All thanks to my Batgirl," he winked teasingly and I laughed, my head bowing as I did so.

I swiveled my head to Isaac, who was watching me and I smiled at him reassuringly. He smirked and tilted his head to the side. It was finally over. The killings, the giant lizards, everything.

* * *

When I finally got home that night, I found Isaac sitting on the edge of my bed. I sat next to him and took his hand in mine.

"Feels like déjà vu," I chuckled.

"Yeah," he agreed, smiling. "Except a lot less screaming."

I looked at him from the corner of my eye and found he was already staring down at me, eyes wistful.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," I said, recalling what Scott had said about Allison stabbing him multiple times.

"You didn't know," he replied softly. "You were helping your best friend, you wouldn't have known that would happen."

"But still. You got hurt," I bit my lip.

"I heal easily, I thought we went over this," he reminded me and I laughed. "It's okay, Ari. I'm okay." His eyes were soft and I simply stared at him for a second.

"So is this- what _is_ this…thing?" I asked, gesturing to the both of us. He grinned and shook our hands lightly.

"This kinda looks like a thing," he said. "Unless you don't want it to be."

"I do," I replied truthfully. "I meant it when I said I'm giving you a chance, but how do I know you won't just wake up one day and realize you don't want me?"

"I've slept about," he pretended to think, "a thousand times since I realized I've felt this way about you and I still haven't changed my mind."

I smiled and pressed a kiss on his lips, sighing as I did so. He returned it and we pulled away, him gathering me into his arms. We laid next to each other on the bed, talking about anything and everything, until finally, I fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in bed and I figured that Isaac had left sometime in the night. I moved the sheets off of me and paused when I saw the charcoal that stained my hands. Weird, I didn't have a dream last night. Or at least not one that I remembered.

I sighed in frustration and got out of bed, walking to my canvas. On the paper was an insignia that I didn't recognize. It was a dark triangle, that had three lines protruding from it that angled at the ends. I was more confused than anything. I decided to ask Derek about it, so I took the paper and put it into my bag.

I checked the time and saw that I had an hour to get to school, so I got ready and grabbed the keys to my brother's car. When I got to Derek's house, I saw Peter, Isaac, and the man I was looking for standing in front of his door.

"When there's a new Alpha, people take notice," Peter was finishing saying.

I walked up to them and stood behind Isaac, who did a double take when he saw me, but smiled nonetheless. I still couldn't see what was on the door.

"People like who?" Isaac asked. "What is this? What does this mean?"

"It's their symbol. And it means they're coming," Derek said.

"Who?" I asked quietly.

"Alphas."

"More than one?" Isaac looked at his Alpha.

"A pack of them."

"An Alpha pack and they're not coming. They're already here," Peter threw in.

I looked over Isaac's shoulder at the door and paled at what I saw. I pushed past the taller beta and pulled out the paper from my bag hurriedly, staring down at it shakily.

"Zarina, what's wrong?" Isaac asked slowly.

I didn't answer as I held up my drawing next to the inscription on the door. It was the same. The werewolves behind me were silent as I compared my drawing to the one on the door. When it finally processed that they were exact replicas of each other, I dropped my arm heavily to my side and turned to the three behind me.

Isaac looked apprehensive, Derek looked brooding (as per usual), and Peter was grinning proudly, as if I was his daughter that'd accomplished something great.

"I don't even remember seeing this," I stuttered. "Or them, or whatever it is that this is. I just woke up and this was on my canvas." I showed them my drawing.

"You look like you could use some…professional help," Peter drawled and I turned to him, a long sigh escaping my lips.

* * *

"So you really think she's gonna come back to you?" Stiles was asking Scott as I walked up to my two best friends on the field. They were unloading lacrosse gear from the back of Stiles' jeep.

"Yeah, I know she is," Scott replied surely, and I caught on that they were talking about Allison breaking up with him.

"Hey, you okay?" Stiles asked when he saw my pallid face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I grimaced involuntarily, but nodded. "Fine. Just a little under the weather," I lied, remembering what Derek said to me before I left.

_"Don't tell them. Not yet. We don't need to make any more trouble than we need to."_

Stiles and Scott looked at each other, unconvinced, but let it go. We finally reached the center of the field and Stiles dropped the bag of balls on the ground. Scott moved over to the goal obediently, stick in hand.

"Right now, you need to help me make first line," Stiles said pointedly and I giggled, standing next to him as he scooped up a ball.

"You know something? I'm right back to where I started," Scott straightened in the goal and I raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You know, no girlfriend, no lacrosse, no popularity. I'm back to the way it was before all the werewolf stuff," Scott was grinning, despite the actual sadness of his situation.

"But you still have me!" Stiles argued.

"And me," I added, smiling.

"Okay? So life fulfilled," he finished, rocking back on his feet.

"Definitely. I feel so much better now," Scott replied sarcastically.

Ignoring his comment, Stiles threw the ball in the air, catching it in his stick again as it fell. "Now, remember, no wolf powers."

"Got it," Scott nodded.

"No, I mean it," he reiterated, pointing the stick at our friend. "No super fast reflexes, no super eyesight no hearing. None of that crap, okay?"

"Okay," he replied, crouching into position. Stiles would the stick back, but stopped suddenly halfway.

"You promise?" Stiles repeated.

"Just shoot the ball already," I told him, laughing.

Stiles readied himself once more and lobbed the ball towards the net. I saw the golden flash of Scott's eye as he caught the ball. Stiles' arms flew into the air incredulously.

"I said no wolf powers!" he complained. I bit back my laugh, but couldn't help but feel incredibly happy, in spite of the fact that an Alpha pack had arrived. I could feel my life slowly reverting back to normalcy. Just how I wanted it.

* * *

**AN: ****_Aaaand there's season 2, ladies and gents. It's been a ride. Quite so. Sorry that this chapter's short. Didn't realize how little I had left when I ended the last chapter lol._**

**_ SO HYPED UP FOR SEASON 3 YA'LL DONT EVEN KNOW. But before I start, I'll need to do some stuff about how Zarina's gonna spend her summer cause she's going to get stronger and more independent and OOH I'm too ready. Badass Zarina is coming your way._**

**_Thank you very much for all the support so far. It's crazy how fast this story is moving and I'm super happy it's been pretty successful. Had my doubts, but you guys proved them wrong, so many thanks for that._**

**_As always, please fave/review/follow if you enjoyed. Also, please tell me anything you'd like to see! Whether it be Oracle, Zarisaac, or Stirina related, or even just Zarina's character/relationships with others._**

**_xx._**


	14. Fourteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Welcome.**

* * *

"Can you draw anything except this stupid symbol?" Peter growled, tearing the sheet off the canvas. "This hasn't been any type of help at all. And it's been months."

For four months now, Erica and Boyd had been missing. In that time period, Peter has been training me to control my Oracle powers, which had been progressing fine, but lately, all I'd been able to draw was the same symbol over and over. Even though I was finally able to control the part of my ability that was capable of hurting other people, I still had no control over the visions that came without my consent.

The vision that attached itself to the symbol I kept drawing was the weirdest I'd ever had. It was a recurring thing and each time ended up with exactly the same results. I kept seeing Boyd with another girl, someone I didn't know, in a basement type area and Erica lying on the ground nearby. The basement was dark and dilapidated, not something I'd ever seen before.

"I don't know what else to do!" I shot at him and walked over to the other side of the room, leaning against the wall exasperatedly. "I can't exactly stop it. Or change what I see, so I guess we have to work with what we have, don't we?"

"Maybe if you'd just concentrate a little harder, we'd be able to find them by now," he retorted.

"I've been concentrating," I grit my teeth so hard I thought they were going to crack, and pushed myself off the wall. "So far I've spent my entire summer doing nothing but trying to figure these powers out, which you caused by the way."

Peter glared at me and I glared straight back, unafraid. I wasn't the scared little girl I was three months ago. Spending almost every waking hour with the werewolf had taught me that fear was a feeling I couldn't afford to have. Not with the kind of responsibilities I had.

"If I'd known you'd be this incompetent, I wouldn't have bitten you in the first place," he spat.

"And if I'd known you'd be such an asshole about something _you_ did, I wouldn't have come to you in the first place."

He started moving toward me, as if to pounce on me. I quickly grabbed one of the knives I started keeping in my boot and threw it at him. There was the satisfying sound of the metal finding a home in his shoulder and he stopped, gripping the wound in pain.

I'd been doing some other training, too. With knives specifically. I would've asked Allison to guide me, but she'd left for France with her father, leaving me to my own devices. I needed some other way to protect myself because relying on my Oracle abilities was too close-minded, too predictable. I needed a back-up plan if worse came to worse, so I decided that knives were the best option. Slim, hard to detect, and fast.

Like I said, I wasn't the weak girl I had been during the kanima incident.

"Don't you even try," I snarled at the wolf, who pulled the knife out of his shoulder and threw it on the ground. "You may be the only one who knows how to help me control my powers, but I don't need you."

Instead of being angry, like I'd expected, he looked up at me and grinned cynically. I kept my eye on him warily as he crossed his arms over his chest, wound healing on his shoulder.

"I always knew you'd be a feisty one," he told me. "Part of the reason why I bit you. If you didn't turn out to be an Oracle, like I'd thought you would, you'd still be a werewolf in my pack. A pretty damn strong one, at that."

"You're sick. I see where Derek got his habit of biting helpless teenagers from," I said sarcastically.

"It runs in the family," he countered just as sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and picked up my knife, wiping the blood off before turning away from my 'mentor'.

"I think we're done for today," I dismissed coldly. "I have something to do right now. We'll pick this up some other time."

With that, I stalked out of the house and jumped into my brother's car, heading into the town.

* * *

"Wow," I whistled lowly, looking at the drawing Scott had created of the tattoo he wanted. "Good thing you drew a picture."

The lights in the parlor were low and there was rock music playing softly in the background. Stiles was flipping through a book of designs and Scott grinned up at me, excited, as he sat in the seat.

"Hey, Scott," Stiles piped up. "How about something like this?" He held up a drawing of a lizard creature that looked suspiciously like the kanima. Scott and I gave him hard looks and he nodded sheepishly.

"Too soon?" he asked and I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I don't know man. Are you sure about this? These things are pretty permanent."

"And when you get all old and wrinkly, it's gonna look disgusting," I teased, poking Scott in the side. He stuck his tongue out at me and let out a sardonic 'ha-ha' in response, though he seemed relieved.

That was probably due to the fact that the past few weeks, I've been spending a lot of time with my two boys, but I hadn't exactly been myself. Isaac had been MIA for a while, not answering texts or calls, only telling me that he was going to find his friends. I was beyond anxious, but I was slowly starting to relax again, finally convincing myself that Isaac was perfectly capable of keeping himself alive.

"I'm not changing my mind," Scott stated.

"Okay, but why two bands?" Stiles asked, putting the book down.

"I just like it."

Stiles shook his head and I suppressed a grin. "Shouldn't your first tattoo have a meaning?" I inquired, eyebrows raising. Stiles looked away as the tattoo artist brandished his needle, eyes wide.

"Getting a tattoo means something," Scott pointed out to us.

"He's right," the artist said and we turned to him. "Tattooing goes back thousands of years. The Tahitian word tattoo means to leave a mark. Like a right of passage."

I crossed my arms, mildly impressed with his viewpoint on the meaning behind the dark ink. Though the process still seemed just as painful and repulsive to me.

"Yeah, see? He gets it," Scott voiced.

"He's covered in tattoos, Scott," Stiles gestured to the man. "Literally."

I smiled up at him and sent him a look, causing him to raise his hands in defense and sigh. We both knew Scott well enough to know that he wouldn't change his mind, no matter what we said.

"Okay, you ready?" our friend nodded, face determined. "You, uh. You ain't got any problems with needles do you?" He promptly shook his head.

The buzzing of the needle sounded as it dug into Scott's dark skin and I averted my eyes. Stiles scratched his chin and looked over at him to see what was happening.

"Well, I tend to get a little squeamish though, but…" a loud thump resounded in the room as Stiles fell to the ground, fainting at the sight of the needle. I burst into laughter, eyes watering as I went to move him against a wall. I brushed his newly grown out hair out of his face to make sure he didn't have any bumps on his head.

Though it was for a really stupid reason, Stiles looked really peaceful and almost...cute in his state of unconsciousness. His long eyelashes fanned against his cheeks and the scattered moles on his face were prominent against his pale skin. I realized that my hand was still running through his hair and I quickly pulled away, feeling my cheeks redden even though no one else noticed but me.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I saw a large bruise near his forehead and I shook my head as I examined it. Typical.

* * *

We piled into Stiles' car, where I went straight to the back seat. Stiles had an ice pack on his head against his bruise and I sent him a sympathetic glance.

"Oh, man. You okay?" Stiles asked Scott as he clutched his bandaged arm.

"It burns," he informed us.

"Yes, you just had your skin stabbed about a hundred thousand times," Stiles reminded him and winced at the pain on his head. I moved the ice pack more firmly against his bruise and he smiled in thanks as redness crept up his neck. "With a needle."

"Yeah, but I don't think it's supposed to feel like this," Scott insisted.

"It'll probably go away after a while," I suggested. "You're kind of new to this, so it's natural that it feels off."

Scott opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly grimaced in pain. "Oh! Oh it's definitely not supposed to feel like this. I got to take this thing off."

"No, no, no wait Scott, no!" Stiles said covering his eyes with one hand and mine with the other as our friend ripped his bandage off.

I swatted his hand off my face and gasped as I examined the, now clear, skin on Scott's upper arm.

"It's gone," I muttered, dumbfounded. I felt his arm for any trace of the tattoo, but found none.

Stiles' face crinkled in distaste. "Oh, thank god. I hated it." Scott looked over at him with a wounded expression and I flicked him in the face.

"Sorry," he shrugged, not sounding sorry at all, before starting up the car.

As we made our way back to our houses, Scott still moping about his healed tattoo, I tried texting Isaac.

_Please tell me you're okay. Or even that you're not. I need to hear from you. I miss you. _

I sent the message and threw my phone onto the seat in irritation when I received no message back.

"So have you heard from Allison?" I was genuinely curious, but I also needed something to get my mind off things.

"No, we agreed to give each other the summer. No texts, no calls," he sighed, making it clear that he missed the huntress.

I understood the feeling, though his was probably 10x worse. Isaac had only been gone for a few weeks; it'd been four months since Allison and Scott made contact.

"So how do you know she won't be back in school then?" Stiles asked, stopping at a red light.

He turned his head to look at Scott and it seemed something caught his eye because they grew bigger. I turned and saw what he was looking at. Lydia and Allison were in the car next to us. I gulped nervously.

"After everything that happened? I'm not sure she's coming back at all," Scott admitted.

"I think she is," Stiles pursed his lips and shrugged innocently as Scott turned his head to face him. "It'd say pretty definite. Like 100 percent."

The werewolf still didn't seem to understand, so I groaned and grabbed Scott's chin, moving his head so he was looking out the window, directly at the car next to us. His eyes held something akin to adoration as he looked at Allison for the first time in months, but then Allison saw him too.

"Oh my god," he said, looking away from her and I noticed that she seemed to be freaking out too. Stiles waved to them in greeting. "Can you just drive, Stiles? Please?"

"Scott, it's a red light," he gestured to the traffic light that was still red. "I think we should talk to them. Say something." Scott gave him a stare like he was insane.

"No!"

"Yeah, I don't think that's a very good idea," I pitched in. I knew Allison and Lydia and girls in general. They didn't want to talk to them. Especially not now.

"I think we should just say hi," Stiles pressed, leaning over Scott and rolling down the window. "Hey!" he called out, smile on his face, but Lydia sped past us, ignoring the red light.

Stiles stayed in the same position for a millisecond before shrugging. "You know, they probably didn't see us." He leaned back in his seat and started driving as the light turned green, the car directly behind Lydia's.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked frantically.

"Driving."

"We're right behind them."

"Okay, well do you see any turns?"

"I don't want it to look like we're following them," Scott hastily said.

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know! Anything!"

I blew an annoyed breath out of my mouth. "He can't stop in the middle of the road. That's breaking like 10 traffic laws."

Contrary to my words, Stiles did exactly that, stopping the car straight in the middle of the street. A couple feet in front of us Lydia's car stopped as well. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What the hell is that?" I squinted my eyes to try and see what was charging towards their car. A loud crash was heard and the three of us quickly got out of the car. Scott went over to Allison and Stiles and I went to Lydia to make sure they were okay.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, looking at the windshield. "That looks really bad."

"I'm okay," Allison told Scott, reassuring him as best as she could.

"Well I'm not okay!" Lydia's eyes looked between all of us feverishly. "I am totally freaking out! How the hell does that just run into us?"

Stiles shrugged and Scott walked over to the deer. I followed in quick succession, looking at the animal on the ground.

"I saw it's eyes right before it hit us. It was like, like it was crazy," Lydia continued.

"No, it was scared," all eyes turned to Scott, who was bent beside the animal, touching it slowly. "Terrified, actually."

* * *

I woke up the next day, feeling as groggy as I always did on the first day of school. The same symbol was drawn on my canvas and I slowly recalled my dream last night being the same one that involved Boyd and the mysterious girl in the basement. I put the drawing in my art folder, hopefully disguising it amongst my other works, and went to get ready for school.

When I went downstairs to wait for Allison to pick me up, my brother was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

"Morning," I smiled at him and grabbed an apple.

We didn't get to spend a lot of time with each other during the summer due to all the work I'd been putting in to strengthening myself, but we were closer than before.

"You ready for junior year?" he asked and I snorted.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied honestly.

"Just don't stress yourself out too much," he told me.

"You and I both know that's impossible," I grinned and he nodded in agreement. A honk came from outside and I threw my apple into the trashcan. I kissed his cheek and slung my bag over my shoulder, heading for the front door.

"See you later!" I called out. "Love you!"

I walked out the door and climbed into Allison's car, greeting her. It only took five minutes to get to school and soon, we were leaning against some lockers as Lydia ogled the new boys.

"Freshmen. Tons and tons of fresh men," she grinned like a shark eyeing its prey. Since Jackson had left for London, she'd been on the lookout for a new boy toy, though she had confided in us that it actually hurt to let Jackson go.

"You mean fresh boys," Allison corrected, "Lydia, they're fourteen."

"I bet you most of them haven't even gone through puberty yet," I shuddered.

"Eh, some are more mature than others," she pointed out.

"You know, it's okay to be single. Focus on yourself for a while," Allison offered. "Work on being a better person."

"Yeah, guys are just distractions. You don't _need_ one, at least not now," I added.

Lydia simply chuckled at us. "Zarina, Allison, I love you two. So if you need to do that thing where we talk about me when we're actually talking about the two of you and your boyfriend troubles, it's totally fine. But I don't want a boyfriend, I want a…distraction." She leaned her hand against the lockers as she scoped out the hallway.

Her eyes stopped suddenly and I followed them to the door, where two tall, gorgeous twins were sauntering down the hall, motorcycle helmets in hand. Along with Lydia, half the female population of the school couldn't look away.

"Brothers," I said, taking in their appearances. They gave me a bad feeling that I really didn't like. Something about them was off.

"Twins," Lydia corrected me, her face holding a large grin as she kept her eye firmly on the two of them as they passed.

* * *

I was seated in front of my usual seat in front of Stiles in English, sending compassionate glances to Allison, who was stuck sitting in front of her ex-boyfriend.

The phones in the classroom all beeped, signaling a new text and everyone looked down to read what had come in. Our new teacher, Ms. Blake, entered as she read the message aloud.

"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness," she recited, stopping in the front of the classroom. "This is the last line to the first book that we are going to read. It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phone's off, everyone."

I leaned back in my seat and put my phone into my back pocket, ignoring the vibrating. I assumed it was just my brother, calling to make sure I actually went to school, so I paid it no mind as I turned my attention to our teacher.

Halfway through the class, Ms. Blake was conversing with another teacher. I pretended to take notes as I kept my attention on her conversation. I caught my name being said along with Scott's.

Scott left the room first and after several minutes, I was called to leave too. As soon as I exited the classroom, Scott steered me towards his dirt bike, claiming that we had to go to the hospital.

"What's going on?" I asked as we hurried down the hall.

"Something happened to Isaac," he replied and my steps faltered. "It's okay. My mom said he's at the hospital, but we have to hurry before they take him into surgery and see that he's already healed."

I nodded and we finally reached his motorcycle. I threw one leg over the side and held onto Scott's waist tightly as he sped us towards the hospital. The entire ride, my mind was creating terrible scenarios of what could've happened to my boyfriend, but I shoved them out of my mind. If Ms. McCall said he was okay, then he was okay.

"I'm never riding that thing again," I commented as we walked into the hospital, referring to the multiple times Scott almost crashed into something.

"Aw, c'mon," he said. "It wasn't that bad." I said nothing else, just rolled my eyes, as we walked up to his mother.

"Hey mom. Why didn't you tell me before?" Scott asked her as she led us down the hall.

"Honestly, I was hoping I didn't have to," she admitted. Scott and I glanced at each other questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything you've been doing. The extra reading, the summer school, saving up for the bike even though it scares me half to death," she listed. "I just didn't want to disrupt a good rhythm."

In my mind, I agreed with her. Scott had been working really hard to maintain a better image for himself. He had me and Stiles test him almost daily so he wouldn't fail classes.

"I'm not going to stop. I'm going to be better this year," he assured her quickly. "A better student, a better son, a better friend, a better everything. I promise." I didn't doubt him, and I was sure that his mother didn't either.

"Okay, he's in room 215 if he isn't already in surgery," she told us with a soft smile.

"Thank you," he kissed her on the cheek and we ran through the halls as inconspicuously as possible.

The room was a floor up, so we hurried into an elevator and I pressed the button rapidly. As the doors were about to close, someone stuck their cane through the doors. Politely, Scott pried open the doors and a tall, blind man came inside.

"Would you hit the button for the second floor, please?" he asked in an accented, maybe English, voice. Scott pressed the same number I had earlier. "Thank you."

When the doors opened, my friend helped the man out of the elevator and I waited patiently, though the anticipation was killing me. Once he was safely out of the elevator, Scott and I rushed to room 215, only to be met by a nurse who was already changing out the seats.

"He's gone," I said quietly, leaving the room.

"He has to be here somewhere," he told me, trying to raise my hopes.

We hurried through the hallways where surgery patients were recovering, but Isaac was nowhere in sight. Then, we noticed a man wheeling someone into the elevator and I saw Isaac seated in the chair as the man turned it to fit inside the small space. I grabbed a knife from my boot and hurried towards the elevator as I saw his claws and Scott, giving me a weird look, followed me inside.

"Isaac," I grabbed his chin with my free hand and shook him lightly.

The Alpha that had taken him was already transformed and he gripped me by the neck, slamming me against the elevator wall. The knife dropped from my hand and I willed my eyes to shift. As soon as they did, the Alpha dropped me, arm burnt and I gasped for air, making a grab for Isaac's wheelchair.

As Scott did his best to fight the Alpha, I stopped the elevators and they jerked, causing us all to lose our footing. The doors opened and I shoved Isaac's chair out of the door, pushing Scott out as well.

"No, Zarina!" he yelled as the doors started to close again.

He tried to keep them open, but they closed shut and I was left with the Alpha. I picked up the knife and threw it in the Alpha's general direction. It embedded itself in his stomach, causing him to roar loudly. My eyes still burned as I focused on his neck area, which quickly started to redden.

The Alpha ripped the knife from his stomach and stalked towards me, not caring about his burning neck. He pinned me against the wall, cutting off my airways with his claws.

"Don't you realize what you're dealing with?" he growled in my face as I got lightheaded. "I'm an Alpha!"

The elevator beeped and the doors opened. The Alpha squeezed my neck harder, a gleam of morbid amusement twinkling in his eye as I struggled. Derek came into the elevator out of nowhere and dug his claws into the other Alpha's back.

"So am I," he said and tossed him out of the elevator. He turned to my kneeling, coughing form on the ground. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

I looked up at him, my coughing fit halting and smirked. "Since when do you care about my education?"

Derek rolled his eyes and pressed the button for the bottom floor, helping me up and grabbing my knife from the ground as I regained my breath.

"Was he from the Alpha pack?" I broke the silence and Derek nodded.

"Where's Scott and Isaac?" he inquired after a second.

"First floor, I think," I recalled. "He brought us here on his bike."

Derek and I exited the elevator, my arm slung around his neck. My back was definitely going to bruise, along with my neck. When we found Scott, he ranted on about how dumb I was before he finally agreed to take us to the Hale house.

As I clambered onto his bike, wincing slightly, he looked at me over his shoulder. "By the way, since when did you learn how to use a knife?"

"It's been a long summer, Scotty," I told him with a sheepish smile. He narrowed his eyes, telling me that he expected a better response later and started the bike, taking us to Derek's house.

* * *

"Please tell me you don't still live here," I said as Derek, Scott, and I walked into the house. Derek placed Isaac on a table before searching for something on the ground.

"No, the county took it away, but there's something here that I need. Help heal a would from an Alpha."

"What? But, he's healed," I argued.

"Not on the inside," Derek told me.

He threw debris off of the spot he was knelt down by and I walked over to Isaac, examining his sickly face. It hurt that the first time I saw him, he was in a state like that, but I was glad he was alive. I kissed his forehead gently and ran a hand over his cheek before Derek spoke again.

"Go home, go back to being a normal teenager," I looked over at the Alpha and raised an eyebrow. After everything I'd done this summer, normal wasn't part of my dictionary.

He walked over to Isaac and placed a purple flower next to him. I turned and watched as Scott rubbed his arm.

"Hey, Derek. If you wanna repay that favor now, there is something you can do for me," Scott was grinning wolfishly. I face palmed.

"Not this again," I groaned. "Isaac's hurt, in case you haven't noticed."

"He'll live," Scott said simply and Derek seemed to be on board with whatever my friend was suggesting.

* * *

"Yeah, I see it," Derek said, seating himself in front of Scott. "Two bands, right?" He nodded. "What does it mean?"

Stiles and I were standing behind Derek, watching the scene play out. When he first arrived, Stiles noticed my bruised neck and immediately went on a rampage, swearing to kill whoever did it to me. I laughed it off, and told him I was fine, but by the way the kept glancing down at my bruise angrily, I knew he was still angry.

"I don't know. It's just something I trace with my fingers," Scott admitted, tracing the pattern in the dust.

"Why is this so important to you?" Derek wondered aloud.

"Do you know what tattoo means?" he asked.

"To mark something," Stiles replied without hesitation, winking at Derek. I sent him an odd glance before turning back to Scott.

"In Samoan it means open wound," Scott clarified, ignoring Stiles. "I decided to get it now, as a reward."

"For what?" Derek probed.

"For not texting or calling Allison all summer," he told us. "Even when I really wanted to, even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants. And four months later it still hurts," he sighed and looked down at his hands, "Still feels like a- uh.."

"Like an open wound," Stiles and I finished together, looking down at our friend sadly.

"Yeah, exactly," he agreed softly.

"Pain's gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt," Derek told him, grabbing his tools. I gulped.

"Oh, that's great," Stiles made a face.

"Do it," Scott assented. Derek hesitated before lighting the blowtorch. I took a cautious step backwards.

"Oh wow, that's a lot for me," Stiles grimaced, rolling back onto his heels. "That's my cue. I'll be outside." He took a step forward, but Derek pushed him back harshly.

"Nope, you need to hold him down," Derek instructed, calm as ever. Stiles groaned before placing his hands on Scott's shoulders.

"Dear lord," I whimpered as Derek inched closer to Scott's arm with the blowtorch.

As soon as the flame touched him, Scott screamed bloody murder and started to wolf out. Stiles struggled and tried to hold him down, but it was obvious that he was having a hard time. I hurried over to him and put my hands over his, helping him hold down our rabid friend.

Soon, the pain became too much and Scott slumped in his seat, unconscious. Derek continued burning on the tattoo and once he finished, we waited around for Scott to wake up.

When he did, he looked down at his arm and grinned at his new tattoo.

"It worked," he breathed.

"Looks pretty permanent now," Stiles noted as they led me to the door.

"Yeah," Scott pushed down his sleeve, smiling. "I kinda need something permanent since everything that's happened to us. Everything's just changed so fast. Everything's so, uh, ephemeral."

Stiles and I shared a glance and smiled at Scott's us of the vocabulary word.

"Studying for the PSATs?" Stiles asked. Our friend nodded proudly.

"Wonder who helped with that," I mumbled, smirking.

"You painted the door," Scott realized suddenly as he swung it open. My head swiveled to Derek in panic, "Why'd you paint the door?"

"Go home, Scott," Derek merely said, tending to Isaac.

"Why'd you only paint one side?"

"Scott, leave it," I hissed, but he began to tear off the paint, revealing the Alpha's symbol underneath.

"How many are there?" he asked when he recognized what it was.

"A pack of them. An Alpha pack," Derek confirmed.

"All of them? How does that even work?" Stiles wondered.

"I hear there's some sort of leader. He's called Deucalion," Derek confided. "We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac, Zarina, and I have been looking for them for months."

My two best friends turned to me abruptly and I bit my lip.

"I told you, Scott. It's been a long summer. I had to try and help somehow," I defended myself. "Plus, Peter had answers, and as much as I hate the guy, I needed some."

He shook his head, brushing it off and turned to Derek again. "How do you defeat them?"

"With all the help I can get," Derek sighed.

"Where is she?" Isaac asked suddenly from the other room. All four of us looked at him as he sat up, looking tired. "Where's the girl?" His eyes were blank.

"What girl?" Derek asked his beta. His gaze flickered across us as he answered.

"The girl who saved me," his voice was scratchy from underuse. I pushed past the boys and pulled Isaac into a hug.

"You're okay," I whispered and he kissed my shoulder gently.

"I told you I'd be fine," he mumbled. "Sorry for not answering your texts. Or calls."

I pulled away slightly and grinned at him teasingly. "Yeah, do that again, and I might de-ball you."

"You wouldn't do that," he smirked. "You love me too much."

"Yeah, I do. I love you, Lahey," I agreed confidently.

It was the first time I ever admitted it out loud , but it felt like the perfect time to do so. It didn't matter that there were other people watching and by the look on his face, he felt the same way.

"I love you too, Carlisle," he said simply, and honestly, that's all I really needed to hear.

* * *

**AN: ****_So if that confession of love between Zarisaac wasn't the oh-so dramatic kind of confession you were expecting, yeah well, don't expect something like that in this story. Let's be real, they're not really very dramatic people in general, so this kind of 'teasing-but-still-serious' type of thing is exactly how they'd go about this part of their relationship. _**

**_PLUS THEY'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR LIKE 5 MONTHS, even though it seems like it's rushed, it's not. So yeah. But despite this cutesy little moment, they're gonna be having some troubles soon. I foresee it. _**

**_Zarina's kind of cool now. I've always wanted to learn to throw knives, so writing about her doing it is the next best thing lolol. Oh and I know one of ya'll Guests wants Stirina. Don't you worry, boo. I'll be on that soon. Don't you worry._**

**_Thanks for all the love and support, also please continue all of that. It helps a lot and it makes me feel really gooood. Love you guys._**

**_xx._**


	15. Fifteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Let's gooo.**

* * *

"What?" Stiles looked at Scott as I walked between them down the block.

"What do you mean what?" Scott asked back. I smoothed down my dress.

"I mean what and you know what," Stiles replied.

"What, what?" Scott repeated. I groaned and tilted my head back.

"The look you were giving," Stiles clarified.

"I didn't give a look," he argued.

"Yes, you did," I said, though I didn't really know, I just wanted the conversation to end. "If Stiles is mentioning it, it was probably a distinct look, Scott." Stiles nodded from beside me.

"What look?" Scott looked completely lost.

"The look that says the last thing you feel like doing is going to a party," Stiles cleared up, turning, but never breaking his stride.

"It's not that. It just seems a little weird going to a different high school's party," Scott explained to us.

"What? Would you just-oh my god. One party. One drink. Alright? You'll be fine," Stiles persuaded.

"I went to nursery school with this girl, okay? She promised to introduce me to all her friends. So tonight, no Allison, no, uh-" he glanced at me the same way he had at Lydia's party and I raised an eyebrow at him as he finished, "Lydia. Tonight, we're moving on."

"So," I started slowly, ignoring Stiles' nervous looks. "Why am I here?"

"You need some space from your boyfriend," Stiles said, almost bitterly. "You have been attached at the hip since he woke up."

He wasn't wrong. After Isaac woke up, I didn't dare leave his side. I just got him back and I wasn't about to waste my chance to be with him again.

"You're right," Scott said, thankfully turning the attention away from me.

"You're right I'm right," Stiles agreed, getting excited as he bounced on his toes.

"Moving on," Scott nodded as we walked up to the door.

"Do you have any gum?" Scott asked me and I rolled my eyes.

"You don't need gum," I deadpanned, pushing open the door to Heather's house.

"Stiles!" a very happy looking blonde cried out, coming over to the three of us.

"There' the birthday gir-"

His greeting was cut off by Heather's lips pressing against his. I felt anger bubble in the pit of my stomach and I resisted the urge to rip her off of him. Scott glanced down at me, probably sensing my abrupt fury, and I quickly plastered on a fake smile.

"So glad that you made it," she said, breaking away from him. "Could you come downstairs with me and help me pick out a bottle of wine?"

Again, I felt the strange feeling of rage mixed with my heart jumping into my throat as Stiles responded 'yes' and let himself get dragged away to god knows where.

I wasn't jealous? Was I? No, I couldn't be. I had Isaac, but a part of me couldn't help but growl at the things Heather and Stiles would be doing just downstairs.

"What was that about?" Scott turned to me and I shrugged.

"Didn't know they were _that_ close," I mumbled.

"No, I meant you," he clarified, looking down at me with his eyebrows furrowed. "You seemed…really bothered by it. Something going on there?"

"N-No!" I denied, too loudly, and cleared my throat. "I mean, of course not. I just don't want Stiles to get hurt, you know?"

Scott looked skeptical, eyeing me warily. "Okay then," he said slowly, "Just making sure. I'm gonna go get a drink. Come with?"

I nodded and he led us to the table. I waited patiently and thanked him when he handed me a blue cup. I heard Scott call out my name and grab me as my vision blurred, the cup falling to the floor from its position near my lips.

_Allison and Lydia were walking down a hallway, talking about something I couldn't hear. An African American girl, with pitch-black hair and clothing, suddenly stopped them._

_"Are you Allison?" she asked hurriedly and my friend nodded. The mysterious girl gripped both of their forearms tightly, causing them to flinch._

_"Where's Scott?" she asked seriously. When the two shrugged, fear apparent on their faces, the girl sighed and walked away briskly. My two friends looked at each other in confusion before continuing to walk down the hall. _

_As their arms swung at their sides, I caught sight of the arms that the girl had grasped. On both of their forearms was half of a symbol. The symbol I'd been drawing all summer._

A pain in my arm brought me back and I blinked rapidly, adjusting my eyes.

Scott had pulled us into the bathroom when he saw me shifting, I assumed. He was trying to pry my hand away from my forearm and I let go, the pain leaving with it.

In place of my hand was a bruise. A bruise that formed the symbol I'd seen in my vision with Allison and Lydia, except the entire thing was on my arm, not just half.

"What is that?" he looked down at it and I ran my thumb over it cautiously.

"I don't know," I whispered. "But we need to find out."

* * *

"I don't see it," Derek said, arms crossed over his chest.

"Look again," I prodded, holding out my arm closer to Lydia and Allison's, trying to get him to see it.

"How is a bruise going to tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" the Alpha questioned.

"It's the same on both sides of Allison's and Lydia's. Exactly the same," Scott pointed out.

"It's nothing," Derek said curtly. I huffed and pulled one of the many drawings of the exact symbol out of my art folder.

"Remember this?" I held the paper in front of his face and his face twisted into realization as I moved it next to my bruise.

"I drew this all summer. Every single vision was the same and this drawing was the result. Every. Time," I explained to my friends, who looked puzzled.

"It still doesn't mean anything," Derek countered, though I could tell he was trying to convince himself more than us.

"Pareidolia," Lydia piped in and Derek merely looked at her. "Seeing patterns that aren't really there?" He still looked at her, not getting it. "It's a subset of apophenia." Her voice sounded like the fact should've been obvious to us.

"They're trying to help," Scott defended when Derek started to look irritated with her.

"I know Zarina is, but these two?" he asked, eyebrows high on his forehead. He pointed to Lydia, "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you." I snorted as he moved his finger to Allison, "And this one, who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack."

"Okay, alright, now c'mon," Stiles spoke from a desk nearby. "No one died. Alright, there may have been a little maiming, a little mangling, but no dead." He raised his hand in the air, "That's what I call and important distinction."

"My mother died," Allison said softly.

I turned my head to Stiles, glaring at him. Maybe I was still a little mad that he went off with some girl to a basement, leaving me alone. I don't know why, but I was. Stiles proceeded to slump in his seat.

"Your family's little honor code killed your mother, not me," Derek sharply told her.

"That girl is looking for Scott; I'm here to help him, not you," she shot back, shaking her head.

"Wanna help? Find something real," he snarled and walked away. Scott went after him.

* * *

I slipped into my seat in front of Stiles just in time for Coach Finstock to walk in and slam a book on his desk. I sent Danny a smile in greeting and her returned it as Finstock started class.

"The stock market is based on two principals. What are they?" he asked. Scott raised his hand almost immediately. "Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom. Anyone else?" I bowed my head to hide my grin.

"Uh, no Coach, I know the answer," Scott said meekly.

Finstock started laughing crazily at this, but stopped abruptly when he realized he was serious.

"Oh, you're serious."

"Yes, Risk and Reward," he answered. Finstock looked surprised.

"Who are you and what have you done to McCall?" he asked and chuckled shaking a finger at my friend. "Don't answer that. I like you better…I like you better." Scott straightened in his seat and smiled proudly. "Does anybody have a quarter? A quarter."

Stiles fumbled through his pocket, "Yeah."

As he pulled out the coin, something else flew through the air and onto the floor. I looked down at and back up to Stiles, who looked absolutely mortified at the condom on the ground. I was torn between laughing hysterically and crying. I chose the former and I looked over at Scott, who looked like he was trying not to follow my lead.

"Stilinski, I think you, uh, dropped this. And congratulations," Finstock handed him the condom and Stiles was trying to say something in his own defense, but Coach was already back at his desk, coin in hand.

"Risk and reward. Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward. Okay, watch Coach," he put the mug on the floor and walked a few feet away. He blew on the quarter, kneeling, and bounced it off of the linoleum, landing it in the cup. The class clapped in amusement. "Huh? Huh? That's how you do it!"

He tossed the coin to Danny, who just barely caught it. "Okay, Danny. Risk, reward."

"What's the reward?" he shrugged.

"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow."

Danny leaned forward in his seat. "Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it."

"Danny, you know, I really expect more out of you at this point." He took the coin out of his hand. "Really." Danny rolled his eyes and made a face at me, sending me into another fit of giggles.

"McCall. Risk, reward," he put the coin on Scott's desk. "The risk: If you don't put that quarter on the mug, you have to take the pop, the-the quiz and! And you have to right an essay. Risk, more work." He made a fist, "Reward," he blew his hand open, "no work at all. Or you choose not to play."

"But isn't this just chance?"

"No, you know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience. All factors affecting the outcome. So what's it going to be McCall?" he asked. "More work, no work, or choose not to play?"

Scott hesitated, weighing the options in his head and Finstock took that as his answer, taking the coin off his desk.

"No play. Okay! Who's next? Who wants the quarter?" he raised the coin up and Stiles looked around the room before tapping his hands on his books and standing up.

"There you go! There's a gamblin' man! Come on, step step up! Alright, Stilinski." Finstock clapped as Stiles readied himself.

Everyone looked up at the door, save for Stiles who was still very concentrated on the coin, as Sheriff Stilinski and another deputy came inside the classroom. "Stiles."

"Yeah, coach. I got it."

"Stiles," his father repeated. Stiles stood up straight, noticing his father at last and sent Scott and I a worried glance. The look on the Sheriff's face wasn't good, and I was sure whatever he needed Stiles for wasn't good, either.

* * *

After class, Scott and I found Stiles standing outside the classroom, looking really bothered.

"Are you okay?" I put a hand on his shoulder and he nodded.

"I'm okay. I'm just really worried," he replied honestly. I couldn't blame him. If he or Scott got taken too, I'd be dying.

"So you think they kidnapped Heather to turn her?" Scott asked as we started down the hall.

"Derek says it's easier to turn teenagers," he shrugged weakly.

"But what would a pack of alphas need with a beta?"

Stiles ran a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated.

"Scott, I don't know! I don't care. Alright? This girl…our moms were best friends before mine died, alright?" he hastily said, not too keen on revisiting his mother's death. "We used to take freaking bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her."

"Then we need Isaac to remember."

"How?" I inquired. "Derek told me he and Peter couldn't do it. When they tried, he almost passed out again."

Stiles agreed and I knew he could figure out that if the Hales couldn't fix something like this, it'd be hard to find someone who could.

"You know any werewolves with a better trick?" he asked, the three of us stopping.

"Not a werewolf. But someone who knows a lot about them."

* * *

I didn't like this. Not at all. I wanted to tip over the tub of icy water just so we couldn't go through with it, but I refrained from doing so, knowing it was necessary. I stood beside Isaac, my hand in his, as he looked down at the water.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly comfortable," Deaton said, "But if we can slip your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trace like state."

"Like being hypnotized," Isaac nodded and I inched closer to him.

"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind." Isaac let go of my hand and knelt down to eye level with the tub. He was clearly nervous; he had every right to be.

"How slow does his heart rate need to be for this to work?" I looked up at the vet, biting my lip.

"Very slow."

"Okay, well, how slow is very slow?" Derek probed concernedly as he bent over the tub.

"Nearly dead," Deaton said nonchalantly and the other occupants of the room stared at him wide eyed.

Isaac put a reluctant finger into the water and jerked it out quickly as the freezing cold bit him. "It's safe though, right?"

Deaton looked down at him knowingly. "Do you want me to answer that honestly?"

Isaac looked back at the water and shook his head. "No, no. Not really," he mumbled.

Yup, definitely did not like this idea. I put my hand on his shoulder comfortingly and he put his hand over it, telling me he'd be okay.

There was a resounding snap and we all looked up at Stiles, who had a glove on his hand and a smile on his face.

"What?" he asked, glancing back and forth between all of our faces. I sighed in irritation and gave him the '_you're being stupid'_ look and he understood, taking the glove off and flinging it away from him.

"You don't have to do this, you know that right?" I looked down at my boyfriend and Derek nodded in agreement.

"If it feels too risky, you don't."

Isaac hesitated, but stood, sending me a nod. He pulled his shirt off and handed it to me. As soon as he got into the water, I wrung his shirt into my hands nervously, not liking the way his face contorted in pain as the biting cold made contact with his bare torso. Stiles gently grabbed me by the hips and pulled me into his side when he saw my white knuckles clutching Isaac's shirt. I wrapped an arm around Stiles' waist, needing support.

Seconds later, Isaac emerged from the water, canines bared and eyes golden as Derek and Scott tried to push him back underneath. I hid my face in Stiles' neck as they struggled, not able to watch anymore. His thumb traced comforting circles onto my hip.

"Get him back under," I heard Deaton command and more struggling on Isaac followed. "Hold him!"

"We're trying!" Derek yelled back.

I slowly lifted my head when I heard Isaac stop struggling and watched on as he rose to the surface of the water. His face was pale and lips blue, but he was breathing.

"Now remember," Deaton instructed, "only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out. We just need him to stay calm." We all nodded and he leaned closer to my boyfriend.

"Isaac…can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes, I can hear you," Isaac replied quietly, eyes still shut.

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?" he continued calmly.

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there," he told him and thunder rumbled outside.

Isaac immediately began to panic. "I-I don't wanna do that. I don't- I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that." He started to move around again, water splashing out of the tub.

"Isaac, it's alright. Just relax." The lights overhead started to flicker and I looked up at Stiles, who looked anxious. "They're memories. You can't be hurt by a memory."

"I don't want to do that! I don't want to do that."

"It's alright. Relax, relax. Good," Deaton soothed and the two werewolves pulled away slightly. "Now, let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

Isaac's face twitched in recognition. "It's not- It's not a house. It's stone. Marble, I think."

"That's perfect," Deaton praised him. "Can you give me any other descriptors?"

"it's dusty. And empty. So- so empty."

"Like an abandoned building?" he pushed. Isaac didn't respond, but he obviously saw something. "Isaac? Isaac?" As he started to struggle in the water, the lights began to flicker again.

"Someone's here. Someone's here!" he grabbed Scott's arm and my friend jumped. My heart pumped at overly excessive rates and I felt the worry grow inside of me.

"Isaac, relax."

He didn't listen, though. Whatever it was he was seeing, he was completely terrified. "No, no, no. They see me! They see me!"

"Just memories," Deaton looked up at the lights in concern. "You can't be hurt by your memories. Just relax. Relax." Isaac complied and settled down. "Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

Isaac went silent again, but his eyes popped open, looking up at the ceiling. I pulled Stiles closer to me as he began talking again.

"I can hear him. He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so. I can't…I can't see her. I-I can't see either of them," his eyes squinted in concentration.

"Can you hear anything else?"

"They're worried," he informed us. "They're worried what they'll do during the full moon. They're worried that they're going to hurt each other."

I licked my lips and looked at Derek.

"They're locked in the same room, I saw that too," I confirmed Isaac's words. "What'll happen during a full moon?"

He sighed, "They'll tear each other apart."

"Isaac we need to find them right now. Can you see them? Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of marker? A number on the door? A sign?" Deaton prodded urgently. My mind strayed to the symbol that I'd committed to memory since summer began.

Isaac gasped and sat up straight, causing us all to jump. "They're here! They-They're here!"

"It's alright," Deaton tried to calm him.

"No! No! They're here!"

"Just tell us-" he tried to say.

"They see me! They've found me! They're here!" Isaac yelled, looking at the wall, shaking in fear.

"This isn't working," Derek pointed out urgently. "Isaac, where are you?"

"I can't see them, it's too dark!" he yelled. Scott tried to keep him still, but Derek wouldn't let up.

"Just tell me where you are!"

"I can't see!"

"Derek stop it!" I yelled.

"Isaac, where are you?"

"Just tell me where you are!" He grabbed Isaac this time and Deaton stopped him.

"His heart rate! He could go into shock," the vet warned.

"Let him go!" Scott cried out.

"This isn't the right way!" I felt my eyes start to shift and Stiles pulled me into his chest, shielding my eyes from the scene in front of me. I clutched Isaac's shirt in my hand as I let myself get engulfed by my best friend.

"Isaac, where are you? What did you see?" I heard Derek continue and the burning got worse in my eyes.

"A vault! It's a bank vault!" Isaac answered finally and I pulled my face away from Stiles' chest, my eyes normal as he shot up in the icy water. "I saw the name."

Scott helped him out and I pulled away from Stiles, wrapping Isaac in a towel. "It's uh, B-Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's, um, it's an abandoned back and they're keeping them locked inside, inside the vault."

We all simply looked at him, not really sure what to say after his little episode. He looked around at us, confused.

"What?" he asked us.

"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles sounded reluctant and Isaac shook his head no. "You said when they captured you, that they took you into a room and that there was a body in it."

He looked so lost and I felt bad for him as he tried to remember what he'd said. "What body?" No one looked like they wanted to answer, in fears of making him feel worse than he already did, but Stiles did so anyways.

"Erica. You said it was Erica."

* * *

"She's not dead," Derek disputed even though none of us had said anything else after Stiles' revelation.

"Derek, he said there was a dead body. I can swear I saw Erica looking pretty dead in my vision," I said from my spot beside Isaac on the table, my head on his shoulder. "Things like this, they- they don't leave a lot of room for interpretation."

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" he questioned.

"Someone else, obviously," Stiles replied sassily.

Scott sighed. "Maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle. The one that saved you?" He turned to Isaac, who shook his head.

"No, she wasn't like us. And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was," he explained.

"What if that's how Erica died?" Stles suggested. "Like they put them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives? It's like a werewolf Thunder Dome." I rolled my eyes.

"Then we get them out tonight," Derek decided.

"Be smart about this Derek," Deaton said cautiously. "You can't just go storming in."

But the Alpha was determined. "If Isaac got in, so can we."

"But he didn't get in through a vault door, did he?" I shot at him.

Scott nodded, despite my harsh tone, and sat up. "We need a plan."

"How are we going to come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" Derek scoffed.

"I think someone already did," Stiles pitched in, looking at his phone. I hopped off the table and looked at the screen from over his shoulder, tip-toeing in order to do so. "Beacon Hills First National closes doors three months after vault robbery. Doesn't say how it was robbed, but it probably won't take long to figure it out."

"How long?"

"It's the internet, Derek, okay?" He looked at Stiles and I skeptically and the two of us shared an amused look.

"Minutes," I told him and grinned as Stiles chuckled superiorly at him.

* * *

The next night, I went to Derek's loft early to see Isaac and check in on him before we started on our plan to break Boyd out.

"Scott and Stiles will be here soon," I said as I walked into the loft. I groaned as I noticed Peter sitting on the staircase, looking at me with a smirk.

"Well if it isn't my little student," he drawled. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

I rolled my eyes and ignored him, walking up the stairs. I could already tell that Derek sent his uncle a warning look based on the way Peter raised his hands up in surrender.

When I entered Isaac's room, he jumped from his place on the bed and I smiled at him as we both laid down next to each other. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I laid my head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heart under my ear.

"You feeling better?" I asked, playing with his fingers.

"Much," he replied. "But almost dying takes a lot out of a guy."

I chuckled humorlessly. "That's the fifth time you've scared me this week. I think my heart's going to stop before yours does."

His chest deflated under my ear as he sighed. "You know I'm sorry for making you worry about me. You have enough to think about as is."

"I missed this," I said suddenly. "I missed you."

He kissed the top of my head. "I know. I missed you, too."

There was a knock on the door and I knew that it was to tell me that Stiles and Scott had arrived. I got up from my position and hesitated, looking at Isaac's solemn face.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to stay?" he offered weakly and I let out a sad smile, shaking my head.

"I have to help somehow," I told him. "But I'll be back soon, safe and alive. Swear."

I leaned down and kissed him on the lips warmly before getting up from the bed. "I love you," I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Love you too," he said back, cheesy grin on his face.

I laughed and exited the room, jumping as I saw Peter standing on the other side of the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" I growled, eyes narrow.

"Feisty, as always," he chuckled. "You know, you'll always be my favorite. My biggest success."

"Don't talk about me like I'm some kind of toy you made in a workshop," I snapped. "I'm not your anything. I don't want to be involved with you in any way."

"But you know you'll have to be, right?" he shot back without missing a beat. "What with Boyd being trapped in the bank and the Alpha pack. Sweetheart, you're going to have to deal with the fact that I'm not going anywhere."

I breathed out harshly and pushed past him, walking down the stairs. He followed me and I could feel the smugness radiating from him as he sat on the bottom step of the staircase. I walked up to the table and listened to their conversation.

"Look, forget the drill. If I do in, how much space do I have?" Derek was saying to Stiles.

"What do you think you're going to do Derek? You going to punch through the wall?" Stiles provoked. I rubbed my temples. Why couldn't he just respond to things like a normal person? Just once.

Derek sighed, smirking as he crossed his arms. "Yes, Stiles. I'm going to punch through the wall."

Stiles scoffed and began to mock him. "Okay. Okay, big guy. Let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it. Get it out there, don't be shy." Derek put out his fist slowly as Stiles went on. "Don't be scared. Big, bad wolf. Yeah look at it. Okay, see this?" He lifted his hand a few inches away from Derek's fist. "That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid con-"

Derek's fist shot forward and hit Stiles' palm. He yelled out in pain and moved away from the alpha, cradling his hand.

"Ah, ah!" he groaned. "He can do it!" His voice was raised several octaves and I laughed at his expense. I grabbed Stiles' hand gingerly and examined it, making sure it wasn't broken.

"I'll get through the wall," Derek said determinedly. "Who's following me down?" I glanced up from Stiles' bruising hand to see him looking at his uncle expectantly.

"Don't look at me. I'm not up too fighting speed yet, and honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself," Peter admitted.

"So I'm just supposed to let them die?" Derek asked, annoyed.

"One of them is already dead."

His eyes narrowed at his uncle. "We don't know that," he pressed.

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" Peter continued. "A pack of Alphas. All of them killers! And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids, they'll be missed." His voice held fake sympathy in that last sentence.

"Can someone kill him again, please?" Stiles suggested as I let go of his hand.

"Working on it," I sent Peter a mocking wink and he shot me an angry look.

"Derek, seriously. Not worth the risk," he said, not bothering to acknowledge what I'd said.

"What about you?" Derek looked away from his uncle at us.

Stiles looked pleasantly surprised, "Yeah, if you want me to come-"

"Not you," Derek cut off. "Scott."

I looked over at Scott, who looked as if he'd already made his decision.

"Of course. I'll come. I don't know about Erica, but if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something. We have to try," he agreed.

"Who's the other girl?" I piped up. "The one locked in there with Boyd?"

Derek sighed and moved the blueprints around. "I guess we're going to find out," he turned to Scott, "Let's go."

I rushed over to Scott and gave him a hug. I'd almost lost Isaac to the Alpha pack and I couldn't bear losing one of my best friends to them either.

"Please be careful."

"Aren't I always?" he laughed, hugging me back. I pulled away and looked at him seriously.

"I mean it," I told him and he gave me a reassuring smile. Then, he and Derek left the loft, sliding door slamming behind them.

* * *

"It's nerve-racking," Stiles stated as he looked out the loft's window. I was sitting on a chair at the table that the blueprints were laid out on and watched him. "My nerves are racked. They're severely racked. R-Ra-ah-cked."

"I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over," Peter proposed as Stiles moved to the middle of the living room. I swiveled my chair to face the two.

"Touch him and I'll burn you alive," I threatened and he glanced over at me, sneering.

"You think Erica's really dead?" Stiles stopped the argument before it could start.

"You think I really care?" Peter remarked.

"You know what?" I stood from my chair and glared fiercely at the werewolf. "You should. In fact, you should be out there helping them find her; dead or not. Maybe since your revival caused you to become too weak to even help us in the slightest, you shouldn't have done it at all. But that's just my personal opinion."

"Ah, yes. Because I've always cared about your personal opinion," he retorted.

"I swear, I'm going to mur-"

"That's enough!" Stiles cut me off hurriedly. "It's just- I just…I don't understand the bank, though, okay? Like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha pack, right? Shouldn't they have a lair?"

"They're werewolves, not Bond villains," Peter raised an eyebrow and I sat back into my chair with a sigh.

"Wait a sec, maybe they're living there, you know?" his eyes brightened with an idea. "Like, maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens?"

"Wolf dens?" I repeated, incredulous.

"Yeah, wolf dens," he confirmed, turning to Peter. "Where do you live?"

"In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods," he replied sarcastically.

"Whoa, really?" Stiles jerked his head back in surprise.

"No, you idiot. I have an apartment downtown," he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, fine, but still. That just proves there's something up with the bank," Stiles persisted.

"Then, why wait for the full moon?" I asked. "Why not just kill them as soon as they get them inside?"

"Maybe the think it's poetic," my friend offered with a shrug.

"They've already had three full moons to be poetic," Peter pitched in, "And here you've only had one full hour to be so annoying…" he trailed off.

"No, go ahead, finish what you were saying," Stiles hackled. "I'm an-I'm annoying. What were you gonna say?"

"What are the walls made of?" Peter sounded serious.

"I don't know, like wood and brick or-" Stiles looked at the walls of the loft.

"No, the vault, the vault," Peter stopped him. "The walls, what are they made of?"

I turned to the table and started looking around at the papers scattered all around.

"Where would it say that?" I heard Stiles question.

"Doesn't say anything," I told them, still rummaging through the files. "Oh...hang on. I found it, it says right here." I squinted at the paper and read off the name of the material. "Hecatolite." My head tilted the side in confusion and I face the two behind me.

"Is that awful? That sounds awful," Stiles made a face.

"Get them on the phone," Peter commanded. "Call them. Now!"

"Okay, why?" he whipped out his phone and started to dial Scott's number. I hurried to his side and listened to it ring.

"Because Boyd and that girl aren't going to kill each other. They're going to kill Derek and Scott." After about five rings, Scott picked up.

"Stiles, now is not the best time," he told him quickly.

"Scott! Scott!" Stiles said into the phone's mic, "No, listen to me, okay? Look, you gotta get out of there."

"The walls of the vault are made with a mineral called hecatolite," I added.

"It scatters moonlight," Peter explained.

"What does that mean?" Scott inquired, sounding breathless.

"Look, it keeps the full moon out, okay?" Peter clarified, walking up to Stiles as he held out the phone in the center of our little triangle. "They haven't felt the full moon in months. Think of it as the gladiators in the Roman coliseum. They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control."

"And Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three whole months," I said slowly as I caught on. "Scott, they're going to be way stronger. More savage, bloodthirsty. Oh my god, they're the lions. You and Derek just stepped into the coliseum."

"Derek, we've got a problem, a really big problem," I heard Scott shuffle closer to the Alpha.

"Cora?" Derek said softly, not listening to the beta.

"Who?" Scott sounded confused.

"Cora?" he repeated.

"Derek, get out now!" an unfamiliar girl's voice growled. I assumed it was Cora.

"Scott?" Stiles called for him. "Hey, Scott!"

"No," Scott muttered. "No, wait!"

"Scott!" I cried out. "Scott, are you hearing this?"

There were loud growls and the sound of people fighting each other as the three of us inched closer to Stiles' cell phone to hear what was going on.

"Scott!" Stiles yelled into the phone one more time as the line cut off, leaving us in silence.

* * *

**AN: ****_This was a long one. Had to re-watch the first two episodes because I wasn't sure how Lyds and Alli got their bruises lolol. But mhm, this happened. Don't know how to feel about this chapter, but I feel...things, I guess. Hope you feel things about it too. Good things, of course. (:_**

_**Thank you all for all of your support. You guys are the best people in the world. Like seriously. **_

_**Please review/fave/follow if you're enjoying this story! It's very motivational and inspiring when you guys do all of that, so yeah.**_

_**xx.**_


	16. Sixteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC:Zarina. Weeee.**

* * *

As we sat there, staring at the phone, the image of a campsite set at the reserve continually flashed behind my eyes. I brushed it away each time, but it didn't cease. It got so repetitive that I saw it every time I blinked.

However, with each blink, there was a sound accompanying the image, growing louder each time I saw it. I shut my eyes and as I listened, I realized what the sound was: a scream. A really loud, terrified scream. My eyes shot open and I looked at Stiles and Peter, who were pacing around the room.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked breathlessly.

"Hear what?" Stiles stopped his pacing and walked up to me.

"The screaming," I replied quietly. "Y-You're sure you didn't hear that?"

"Positive," he said slowly. "Z, what's going on?"

"Someone's in trouble," I sprinted up the stairs and burst into Isaac's room, where he was lounging on his bed. He was at my side in an instant, looking down at me. "Isaac, someone's in trouble. I-In the woods."

"Okay, let's go," he said, thankfully not questioning my judgment. He grabbed my hand and we hurried down the stairs, but Stiles grabbed my shoulder before we could leave, jerking both of us back.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. I pulled my shoulder from his grip hastily.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," I told him hurriedly. "I promise we'll be safe, I just have to help. Don't ask how I know, I just do."

Isaac opened the door to the loft and pulled me out with him, I heard Stiles let out a strangled groan, but we didn't have time. The two of us stopped in front of the loft building and realized we had no way of travel except on foot.

"Hop on," he bent down so I could get on his back. I jumped on and he gripped my thighs, hoisting me up further on his back. "Hang on tight."

With that, he sprinted towards the preserve and I helped show him where the campsite was, though I wasn't sure how I was able to tell. I had his neck in a death grip as he went impossibly faster, hoping we weren't too late.

I saw the soft glow of a fire and I pointed forward with one hand. He went in that general direction and jumped off the ledge we were on, landing in a crouched position. I hurried off his back as he had a stare down with, who I assumed was, Cora, smirk on his face as she growled at him.

"Stay behind me, alright?" I told the terrified girl that was nearby the exact campsite I'd seen. "We'll keep you safe." True to my word, I kept an arm barred out so she'd stay behind me and I was glad when she didn't move a muscle.

Isaac lunged towards Cora and she swung out wildly, but he caught her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. He grinned triumphantly until she got back onto her feet, growling as she threw him into a tree painfully. The girl behind me gripped my outstretched arm in fear and I let her, hoping I looked more confident than I felt.

My boyfriend looked up at the rabid werewolf from his kneeling position on the ground when Scott came leaping above him, kicking the girl straight in the chest, sending her down. Scott flipped himself into a fighting stance and Isaac moved next to him, both of them unafraid of the girl. Derek walked calmly up to them and roared at her. Scared, Cora ran away and Derek followed quickly in pursuit.

Isaac and Scott turned to me and the girl and I swiveled my head to her. She flinched away at the two werewolves and hid farther behind me. I spun around and grasped her wrists gently.

"Are you okay?" I probed softly, not wanting to scare her anymore.

"W-What?" she said in reply, voice shaky.

"Are you alright?" I clarified, speaking more firmly this time. She nodded, finally, though I knew she wasn't really fine.

"You need to get out of here," Scott said from behind me, just as calm as I was trying to be. "Okay? Get out of the woods. Get out of here as fast as you can."

The girl looked to me for confirmation and I nodded, releasing her wrists. "You'll be okay," I promised. "Just hurry."

Without checking for a response, I walked up to the two werewolves and got onto Isaac's back as the two tore into the forest, following Derek's scent.

* * *

When we'd found Derek, we relocated to a place nearby a huge tree. I was leaning against a tree next to Isaac, who had an arm wrapped around my waist. After a few minutes of silence, I'd gotten a call from Stiles. I fumbled to answer it and put the phone to my ear.

"Stiles?" I said. "Did something happen?"

"I'm with Lydia at the public pool," he talked hurriedly. "She found a dead body."

"Are you sure?" I breathed out, incredulous, moving away from the tree and closer to Scott so he could listen in. He leaned his ear closer to the phone.

"Yup, throat ripped out, blood everywhere," Stiles confirmed. "It's like the freaking Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods and start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised."

I rolled my eyes at his choice of analogy, but continued my interrogation. "Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them? Maybe someone else did it."

"Make sure it was them? Zarina, who else is going around ripping throats out?" he retorted.

"Please, just do it," I pleaded. "We need to know."

He was silent for a few seconds before he hung up and I put my phone into my pocket with an irritated sigh. I walked back up to Isaac and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders again, warming me.

"This doesn't make any sense," Derek told us and I crossed my arms over my chest. "The public pool's all the way on the other side of the woods, we haven't tracked anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott argued.

"How are they moving so fast?" he continued.

"Derek," I spat warningly as he shot question after question.

"They can't be that fast on foot!"

"They killed someone," Scott cut him off, looking guilty. "Some totally innocent kid is dead. And it's our fault."

I glanced to Derek, who had a pained expression on his face.

"It's my fault," he admitted. I knew he was secretly talking about Erica. He looked like the world just crumbled underneath him with those three words.

"It's neither of your faults," I pitched in firmly, sending Derek a sympathetic look. "You didn't mean for this to happen."

"We need help," Scott informed us.

"We have Isaac and Zarina now," Derek motioned to the two of us with his head.

"I mean real help." Isaac and I turned our heads to him, our faces offended.

"Hey!" I protested, but Scott ignored me.

"They're too fast for us. For all of us," he said, cutting off Isaac before he could say something else. "They're too strong. Too rabid."

"We'll catch them," Derek said, looking like he was trying to convince himself more than us.

"What happens if we do? Hold them until the sun comes up?" Isaac offered sassily.

"Maybe it would be…easier just to kill them," the Alpha said resignedly.

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," Scott disagreed.

"What if it's the only thing to do?" I rubbed my face. "I don't want to kill them, but what if there's no other choice?"

"We have to find someone who knows what they're doing," Scott obviously had an idea. I had a pretty good clue of who he was hinting at.

"Who?" Derek inquired slowly and I knew he had the same thought.

"Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves," the grin spreading on his face was enough to ratify our suspicions. Argent.

* * *

I leaned into the partition from the backseat of Derek's car as we watched Scott approach Argent. As soon as he made a sound, Chris had him at gunpoint. I struggled to hold back my laughter at my friend's astonished expression. Scott seemed to be fumbling for something to say.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" Isaac asked from beside me.

"Nope," Derek and I responded in unison.

"Me neither," he said.

The car went silent again as the scene played out and I shifted in my awkward position.

"So your, uh, your sister," Isaac piped up, still looking out the front window.

Derek and I slowly turned our heads to him and he looked back at us. With just one glance at Derek's face, he gulped.

"Sorry, uh, it's bad timing. I'm sorry." Derek turned his head away, but Isaac continued. "I'll ask later it's fine."

Derek turned back to him, eyebrow raised and I smacked him upside the head.

"Or never," Isaac fixed himself and he nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good with never." The two of us nodded too, agreeing.

"Not like you have a girlfriend or anything," I mumbled, turning away from him.

There was a prominent pang of hurt in my chest at the thought that Isaac even thought about a girl that wasn't me. And to ask about her too? That made the ache worsen. I bit my lip to stop it from trembling.

"Zarin-" Isaac started, but I cut him off, instead turning to Derek.

"Why does Argent still have a gun to Scott's head?" I asked quickly, not able to hide the slight pitch in my voice. Derek ignored it and shrugged.

"Scott kind of dated his daughter," he responded, scoffing. "If I were Chris, I would've shot him by now."

I let out a small 'huh', and faced forward again, still ignoring Isaac's gaze on my face.

"Sound like you'd be a great father," I mumbled and Derek chuckled.

I sighed in relief when Argent put the gun back into his pocket and thanked whatever god gave Scott the amazing gift of puppy dog cuteness and unwitting charm.

Suddenly, Scott got into Argent's car and I nudged Derek, pointing to it. He started the car and we followed them closely. After a few minutes, we saw the public pool and I knew what Scott was trying to do. The flashing lights of police cars were apparent and a body was being pushed into the back of an ambulance.

The car in front of us stopped and I was sure the decision was set. Argent was in.

* * *

Scott and Chris knelt down beside his bag in the middle of the place where we last saw Boyd and Cora. I stood next to Derek, and away from Isaac, who looked extremely downtrodden as he leaned heavily against a tree.

"You tracking them by print?" Chris examined the ground and Scott shook his head.

"Trying to," he replied.

"Well, then you've been wasting your time," the hunter informed us, looking up at Isaac, then back to the ground as he stood.

"There's only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints," Chris started. "And that's man. If you're not trained like me, you have no idea that this print is Boyd's," he pointed to the larger one on his left and moved his finger to the right as he finished his sentence. "and these-"

"Are Cora's," Isaac finished, pointing a finger downwards.

"Nope," Chris shot down. "They're yours. You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here." Isaac moved away from the tree, sheepish.

"Listen, I know the three of you are focusing half your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon, but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora, who have fully given in," he explained to the werewolves. "They put the peddle to the floor where you three are barely hitting the speed limit."

I glanced at Derek, who looked pretty in control, but I knew his inner wolf was clawing at him on the inside.

"So what do we do?" I asked him, trying to be of help to the situation.

"These three need to focus on their sense of smell. Actual wolves are known to track their prey by up to 100 miles per day by scene. A trained hunter can use scent to track them. If the wind is with them? Wolves can track a scent by a distance of two miles, which means we can draw them to us, or into a trap," he tossed a net to Scott. "The full moon does give us one advantage, though."

"They'll have a higher heat signature," I realized and Chris nodded, impressed. "They'll be easier to detect on infrared that way."

"Exactly," he agreed and tossed the werewolves vision goggles. Derek proceeded to hand his to me as his eyes went a deep red.

"Thanks, but I've got my own."

Chris nodded. "Just remember, we're not hunting wild animals. Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human beings. Don't think they can't rely on that human side," he told us and I felt extreme respect for the man at that moment. He knew that despite their monstrous appearances, werewolves were real people, too. "It's suppressed, but it's there. Reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks, how to survive."

He led the four of us to the ledge of a hill that overlooked Beacon Hills. The town below us was mainly dark, but some buildings had their bright lights on.

"When's the last time you saw your sister?" Chris inquired, glancing at a tense Derek.

"9 years ago. I thought she died in the fire," he told him tersely.

"Do you feel like you have a lock on her scent?" He shook his head. Chris sighed and nodded. "Scott, how confident are you in your skills?"

"Most of the time I'm trying not to think about all the things I can smell," Scott admitted.

"Zarina, what can you do?" Chris surprised me and I gaped for a minute before recomposing myself.

"I can try to see where they'll be going next, but Peter didn't exactly give me a 'Dummy's Guide to Seeing the Future', so I can't guarantee anything," I told him. I cringed inwardly at my automatically sarcastic tone. I hung out with Stiles too much.

The hunter nodded, as if already expecting that answer. "Just keep trying. We'll need to be a few steps ahead of them if we want this to work." I nodded. "Alright, the problem is when they breach the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school, they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills."

"They're not going to kill everyone they see, are they?" Isaac asked nervously.

"No, but there is an important difference to recognize. Wolves hunt for food, at a certain point, they get full," Chris answered. "Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill. For some primal apex predatory satisfaction that come from ripping warm bodies to bloody shreds. And who knows when that need gets satiated."

"But we won't kill them," Scott piped up. "We can't."

"But what if we can't catch them?" Derek repeated his words from earlier.

"Then maybe we can contain them," Chris suggested, mediating the argument. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"You want to trap them inside?" Derek looked skeptical.

"If there's somewhere with a strong enough door, no windows or access to the outside."

I thought for a second and a place came to mind, "The boiler room." They turned to me. "It's in the basement and it's blocked off by a giant steel door that I'm almost positive they won't be able to get through. It's perfect."

"You sure the school's empty?" Chris queried.

"Well I don't know about everyone else, but at the rate this town's going in terms of homicides, I wouldn't want to be in the school at night," I responded. Ignoring my cynicism, the guys nodded.

Chris walked over to his truck and opened up the back door. He pulled out multiple silver stakes and dug one into the grass. "These are ultrasonic emitters. It's one of the tools we use to corral werewolves," he explained and we gathered around the tool. "Pushing them into the direction we want to run. It gives off a high frequency pitch that only they can hear." He clicked it on.

I heard nothing but silence. However, the werewolves threw their hands over their ears, wincing at the sound they heard. Chris clicked it back off and walked to his car to get more as we followed him.

"These are going to drive them to the school?" I ran a hand through my hair. He handed us each one and I turned it over in my hand, giving it to Scott after a second of debate. I wouldn't know where to put that thing.

"And then it's up to you to get them into the basement."

"Does anyone want to rethink the plan where we just, um, kill them?" Isaac offered. For the sake of their lives and the fact that I was still pissed at him, I punched him in the arm harshly, rolling my eyes.

"It's going to work," Scott shook his head and the two other werewolves looked at him in disbelief. "It'll work." The werewolves all separated to place the stakes and Chris drove us towards the school, stopping in some places to place our own emitters.

* * *

I stood close behind as Isaac and Scott ripped open the doors to the school with a loud bang.

"Y'know, this reminds me of that time Peter trapped us in here," I gulped.

Scott sent me an amused look, obviously remembering it too, before leading the three of us back to the front of the school. Isaac ran off somewhere and I followed Scott to Chris, who was looking up into a tree.

"Do you see that?" he asked us and we looked up.

"Fireflies," I said. "And they're glowing."

"Yeah, what's so weird about that?" Scott looked at me and Chris, but our eyes were still glued onto the bug.

"California fireflies aren't bioluminescent," I explained, looking at my friend, who looked utterly confused.

"They don't glow," Argent clarified.

"Does that mean something?" Scott glanced back at the firefly.

Chris looked hesitant and opened his mouth to answer, but a howl cut him off before he could. Boyd and Cora were here. Chris ushered us into his car and he honked multiple times at the two werewolves who had cornered Isaac.

They ran from the car, still snarling, and jumped onto the roof of the school. The three of us got out of Chris' truck and watch them run.

"They're not going into the school," Scott pointed out. "They're going over it."

"The red doors," Derek called out as the three of us ran to him. "Someone has to get them open."

"I'll go," Chris said, pulling out his electrical baton, but Isaac ran up to him, disagreeing.

"No, I'll do it," he said. "I'm faster." He ran off again and I followed him without hesitation. Angry or not, I wouldn't let him do this alone.

I followed him to two large yellow doors, which he barred up quickly. I flinched as multiple bangs of light came from behind us and simultaneously, we turned from the door and saw Allison atop a school bus, bow in hand.

Isaac inched closer to the bus and looked up at her with something akin to admiration. My stomach clenched as they met eyes, Allison's widening before she ran away. He watched her go, that same look of awe on his face and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Isaac looked completely and utterly star struck by her.

"We should go," I told him, voice tainted with anger and sadness. "They probably need us to hurry."

"No, we need to talk," Isaac grabbed my arm as I walked away and I yanked it away from him, hair flying as I confronted him.

"There's nothing to talk about!" I argued. "Nothing! Okay? I already know everything I need to know."

"You don't!" Isaac retorted. "Just let me explain!"

"Explain what? Huh?" I shot back. "How you asked about Derek's sister when I was sitting _right there_? Or how you looked at Allison right now, like she was the light at the end of the tunnel? I don't know how you can justify that so that it'll sound any less like you're thinking about other girls when you claim to love me."

"I don't _claim_ to! I actually do," he shot back. "You know that I do."

"Yeah, well. You have a funny way of showing it," I laughed sarcastically. "Some boys bring flowers, but no, you check out other girls. That's great."

"You're being stubborn," Isaac clenched his jaw, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Am I?" I softened, the sadness overruling the anger at this point. "Actually, do you know why this hurts so much?"

He didn't say anything, so I continued. "I could care less about you asking about Cora, I really could. Sure, it hurt. But not as much as the way you looked at Allison. That was the thing that really got to me."

"Why?" his eyebrows furrowed. "Zarina, I-"

"Because the way you looked at her? Like the world stopped when you saw her? That's how you used to look at me," I finished brokenly.

"You don't understand," he pleaded with me.

"You're right. For once, I really don't understand," I finished, voice weaker than before and I turned around. "And clearly, neither do you."

I sprinted into the school, trying to get as much distance between the two of us as possible. I stepped into the hallway just as soon as I heard the door to the boiler room shut, and I sighed in relief. At least something had gone right.

I saw Isaac run into the hallway after me, calling out for Scott as he ran past a window. He stopped and looked out, squinting as the sun got into his eyes.

"The sun's coming up," he mumbled. "Scott! The sun's coming up!"

He ran towards the boiler room and I followed him. We watched as Scott opened the steel doors and went inside. We haphazardly followed my friend, almost tripping down the stairs as we did so.

We skidded to a stop behind Scott as Derek came into view, shirt torn and bloody, but the betas unconscious at his knees. The Alpha looked up at us, letting out a breath of air. The three of us stayed silent as he struggled to talk.

"There's a teacher," he said breathily. "I'll take care of her. Get them out of here."

Isaac and Scott shared a look before grabbing Boyd and Cora, dragging them out of the room. I was about to leave too, but looked back at Derek.

"You know, Erica wasn't your fault," I told him quietly. "And neither was this. You did good, Der. You saved lives."

* * *

Scott and I hurried to meet Stiles at the hospital morgue after he'd sent us a text saying he'd figured something out. He was standing over Heather's dead body when we found him and I gasped, going over to him and hugging him as tight as I could.

"I am so sorry," I whispered into his chest and he held me tighter.

"It's okay," he replied softly. "I'm just glad it wasn't you. It could've been, and it wasn't."

My heart skipped a beat at this and I pulled away from his warm embrace, small smile adorning my face. The room turned silent as Stiles faced Heather again, pulling the sheet over her lifeless face.

"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anyone?" Scott questioned after a moment.

Stiles sighed and placed his hands on the table. "You're gonna wish they did," he told us.

"What? Why?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure yet, but," he paused. "the other girl who was out in the woods, Emily, I don't think they're gonna find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool. All three were virgins. And they're all gonna have the same three injuries. Strangled, throat slashed-"

"Head bashed in?" I looked at him through my eyelashes and he nodded grimly, knowing we were on the same wavelength. "A Three Fold Death."

"So if these aren't random killings, what are they?" Scott asked just as I connected it all in my head.

"Sacrifices," I started shakily, feeling disgusted at whoever did this and completely disturbed.

"Human sacrifices," Stiles finished for me and the three of us looked at each other, more helpless than ever.

* * *

Almost as soon as we stepped out of the morgue, Alex grabbed my by the ear and tugged me to a secluded place down the hall.

"Ow, ow, ow," I yelped as pain stung in my ear.

He let me go and looked at me sternly. He was still dressed in his scrubs and he looked extremely tired.

"What the hell, Zarina?" he burst out. "What were the three of you doing in the morgue?"

"Stiles' friend just died," I told him, rubbing my red ear. "We were just trying to be good friends and support him."

Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's really great of you, but you do realize you're not even supposed to be in there, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But Ms. McCall let us in so we could, uh, say goodbye I guess," I tried to sound convincing, though all I really wanted was to go back home and cry myself to sleep. Between Isaac and the whole human sacrifice thing, I felt stressed out.

"Okay, just go home," my brother ruffled my hair. "I'll see you there."

I nodded and walked back to Scott and Stiles, who were patiently waiting in the lobby.

"I'll take her home," Stiles told Scott and they patted each other's backs. Scott pulled me into a hug and I pulled away after a second.

"See you at school, Scotty," I told him and he nodded, grinning slightly.

Stiles led me out to his jeep and started to drive. The whole car ride was silent and I watched the passing scenery blur by.

When we reached my house, I asked Stiles to walk me out and he did so gladly.

As soon as we got to the porch, I broke down. I buried my face into my hands and sobbed into them, unable to hold back anymore. My back leaned against the closed door and I slid down it onto the floor.

"Whoa, what happened?" Stiles asked anxiously, hands flailing as he tried to figure out what to do.

I barely heard him as I continued to cry. It felt like everything was doing it's utmost to make me weaker, and after I'd spent literally my whole summer strengthening myself so this type of thing wouldn't happen.

"Hey, no, shhh," Stiles crouched in front of me and took my hands away from my face, wiping my tears with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm so t-tired," I stuttered, voice trembling. "I can't be strong anymore, Stiles. I can't do it. It's too much."

"Then don't," he whispered, hands still on either side of my face. "No one's asking you to. _I'm _not asking you to."

"Really?" I sounded like a small child and he chuckled lightly, nodding.

"Really. I think you're perfect just the way you are," he admitted softly, dropping his hands from my face.

I smiled up at him and leaned upward to kiss his cheek. I lingered there, then pulled away. When I did, his neck was red and he had a goofy grin on his face.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, wiping my face and standing. I held out a hand and he took it, standing with me.

"For what?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Your friend just died and here I am being comforted by you. I should be the one comforting you," I bit my lip.

"I told you I'm oka-"

"No you're not," I disagreed softly. "You always say that, but you rarely are. If I don't have to be strong, neither do you. Not all the time, at least."

His eyes watered and he bowed his head, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. I squeezed his hand and let him.

"God," he sighed out after he finished wiping his tears. He sniffled. "This is like an episode of Dr. Phil."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him. Stiles' hands pressed into my hair, pushing my face into his chest. I thought back to my first session with Ms. Morrell, when she'd asked me if I had someone to pick up my broken pieces.

Before, I wasn't so sure I did, but now? I was.

* * *

**AN: ****_Zarisaac dramaaaa. Ain't gon' be good. Poor Stiles btw. Rewatched the episode for this chap and forgot how sad it was to see him cry. *wipes away tears* _**

**_OH. I added pictures of the Carlisle siblings on my profile if you wanna see them! Btdubs, the characters are in no way affiliated with The Originals or anything. I just thought they fit the characters and they just happened to be from the same show lol. But if you have any suggestions on who they should be played by, I'm open to any._**

**_YOUR REVIEWS ARE SO AMAZING AND UGH. Can't contain my feelings. Love you guys too much right now. And all the time, but we can talk about that later._**

**_As per usual, please continue to support this story in any way possible! Means a great deal to me and I've been feeling super motivated, so keep that up._**

**_xx._**


	17. Seventeen

**AN: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. My Tumblr is now linked on my profile! So please check that out. I'm so late tbh I just made one, but yeah. Moving on.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. **

* * *

"Why am I in here?" I groaned. "I hate the boys' locker room."

"I looked everywhere," Scott said, ignoring me as we watched Stiles fumble around in his locker. "It's like he just left everything. His car, his dog."

"Okay. Was he like…could he have been a virgin, maybe? Did he look like a virgin? Was he virginal?" Stiles asked, shrugging on his sweater and I laughed.

"No, definitely not. Deaton makes me have sex with all of his new clients, new policy," Scott joked, pulling on his own jacket.

The two of us were smiling in amusement, but Stiles looked at us blankly. We immediately dropped our smiles.

"No, I don't know if he was a virgin. And why are you talking about him like he's already dead? He's just missing," Scott continued seriously.

"Missing and presumed dead probably because he was a virgin, Scott. You know who else is a virgin? Me! I'm a virgin, okay? And you know what that means? It means that my lack of sexual experiences is now literally a threat to my life! Okay? I need to have sex. Like right now. Someone needs to sex me up right now!" Stiles ranted, slamming his locker closed.

"Alright, I'll do it," Danny said suddenly and Stiles yelled out, turning to him.

"What?" he squeaked.

"Come to my place at nine. Plan to stay the night," Danny smirked and leaned closer. "I like to cuddle."

I bit my lip to stop laughing and shrugged when Stiles turned to me before answering Danny.

"That was so sweet. Are you kidding?" his head tilted.

"Yes! I'm kidding," Danny rolled his eyes, grinning. I bumped his hip as he passed by and he chuckled.

"You know, you don't toy with a guy's emotions like that, Danny! It's not very attractive!" Stiles called out after him.

"Mr. Lahey! Happy to have you back! Not happy, that you're late," I heard Finstock call out.

"And that's where I make my exit," I tipped an imaginary hat at them.

"You don't have to avoid him, you know," Scott said and Stiles nodded. "He's the one who screwed up."

I flipped my hair back with my hand and shrugged. "I can't even really look at him right now. See you at the track."

They waved at me and I stalked out of the locker room as fast as possible, ignoring Isaac as best as I could.

* * *

I met Stiles at the starting line of the track, avoiding Isaac and Scott who were a few people away from us. I tied my hair into a high ponytail and stretched out my neck.

"Something feels off," I told him. "I keep seeing the same tree in my head. Like when I saw the campsite the other night. Do you think it means something?"

"Maybe someone's in trouble," Stiles suggested. "Wanna check it out?" I nodded and the whistle sounded.

Isaac sprinted past everyone else, following the two twins who'd already started running. Scott followed straight after, calling out for him.

I shrugged it off and zeroed in on the tree I saw in my head. Stiles was beside me, following me quietly so I could focus. About half a mile in to our run, I took a sudden right turn into some bushes and entered a clearing.

There was a tree, but what was on it was something I didn't see. A dead body. The missing boy's dead body.

I screamed, the sound piercing through the woods. My wide, tear-filled eyes stayed locked on the boy stuck to the tree. I felt sick. There was so much blood. So much blood.

As Isaac and Scott came rushing towards us, Stiles pulled me into his body, using one hand to push my head down into his chest and the other to keep me against him as I sobbed. He cradled me in his arms softly as more people came to see what'd happened.

"Ari," I heard Isaac approach me, but he stopped when Stiles spoke.

"Leave her alone," he spat. "She's terrified, can't you tell?"

The police came in soon, the sheriff right behind them. I kept my arms wound around Stiles, but up, purposely avoiding eye contact with the tree.

"Hey, get out of the way. Get back!" The sheriff turned to his deputy. "Get this area cornered off before they trample every piece of evidence.

"Back off! Everyone back!"

"Get these kids out of here!"

Stiles took his hand off my head, but used the one wrapped around my waist to pull me closer as he beckoned for his father.

"Dad just come here," he pointed over to where the dead body was. "Look, look. Look at it. It's the same as the others, you see?"

"Yeah, I see that," he told him and looked over at me, the tears still falling from my expressionless eyes. "You okay, Zarina?" I nodded blankly, no words computing in my mind. "Do me a favor. Go back to school, yeah? Take care of her."

Then the sheriff called for Finstock to help corral the teenagers away. "You heard the man! Nothing to see here. Probably just some homeless kid," he called out. I grimaced and looked up at Stiles, who gave me a comforting glance.

"Coach?" Scott said from next to us. "He was a senior."

"Oh. He wasn't on the team was he?" Anger rose inside me at his inconsiderate thought.

All of a sudden, a screeching blonde ran up to the tree. "Kyle! Oh god, Kyle!" My heart broke at the sight and I felt even guiltier.

"No," I whimpered. "He had a girlfriend. And a family. No, this can't be happening. Oh my god-"

"Zarina, let's just go, okay?" Stiles let go of me, but grabbed my hand immediately afterwards. "You're in shock, c'mon."

He pulled me away from the tree, but I sent one more glance over my shoulder to Kyle's body. The tears sprung back into my eyes and I felt my stomach churn. This wasn't fair. Isaac and Scott walked next to Stiles as he pulled me away.

"You see the way the twins looked at him?" Isaac fumed, glaring at said twins.

"You mean like they had no idea what happened?" Stiles suggested sarcastically.

"No, no they knew," he insisted and I desperately wanted him to shut up. How he could still even think about it, I didn't know.

"The kid was strangled by a garrote, alright? Am I the only one recognizing the lack of werewolfitude in these murders?" he reminded us, glancing at me slightly longer in sympathy as I stayed silent.

Isaac scoffed, "Oh, you think it's a coincidence that they turn up and then people start dying."

"Well, no, but I still don't think it's them."

"Zarina," Isaac started softly, "Scott. How about you?"

They all looked at me and I stiffened, gripping Stiles' hand tighter.

"I-I just found his dead body! I didn't even mean to. I just- I don't know," I stuttered out. "But Stiles is right. Not even the most sadistic werewolf would go through all that trouble when they can just…"

I choked on a sob, my mind going back to Kyle. Stiles rubbed my hand gently, turning to Scott, who sighed.

"I don't know yet," he shrugged.

"You don't know yet?" Stiles asked him incredulously.

Scott shrugged, "Well, Isaac has a point. Seriously dude, human sacrifices?"

Stiles looked offended that he'd take Isaac's word over his. "Scott, your eyes turn into yellow glow sticks, okay? Hair literally grows from your cheeks and then will immediately disappear and if I were to stab you right now, it would just magically heal, but you're telling me you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices?"

Scott turned to Isaac sheepishly. "That's a good point too."

"I don't care," he growled. "They killed that kid, they killed that girl who saved me. I'm going to kill them too."

He walked off and I didn't bother to stop him like I would've a few months prior to everything that'd happened.

* * *

Stiles walked me to Harris' room for my next class in silence. My hands wouldn't stop trembling and Kyle's bloody body was stuck in my head. Still, I refused to go home. Home would be worse. Home would give me time to think and I didn't want that.

We stopped at the door and I turned to him. Neither of us moved, though the bell was going to ring soon.

"Are you positive that you don't want to go home?" he asked me, bowing his head so we were eye level. I gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"I need a distraction. Too much alone time will make it worse," I told him. "I'll text you if I need you." He nodded and bent over, kissing my forehead lightly.

"See you soon," he waved and walked off in the opposite direction.

I watched his plaid shirt get smaller as he left and sighed. Without Stiles at my side, I knew this day was going to be harder than it should've been. Still, I walked into the classroom and sat next to Scott, not even glancing at Isaac who was seated in front of him.

"You okay?" Scott leaned over closer to me.

"Yeah," I responded. "I will be."

With that, the bell rang and Harris came into the room, putting his suitcase on the desk before walking over to the chalkboard.

"Alright, since inertia is a subject of which you all know plenty, why don't we start with momentum?" he began.

"Isaac, they're here for a reason. Give me a chance to figure it out before you do anything," Scott pleaded the beta, who I finally noticed was gripping his desk tightly, face drawn into an angry expression. "Okay, Isaac?"

"Danny," he looked up from his desk. "What do we know about momentum?"

"It's the product of mass and velocity. The more massive something is, the faster it's going," he answered correctly.

As soon as Isaac's hand shot into the air, I knew he couldn't take it anymore. "Mr. Harris, can I use the bathroom please?"

Begrudgingly, Harris nodded and motioned to the door. Isaac scrambled out of his seat and out the door, my eyes following him in disbelief.

"I have to go to the bathroom, too," Scott stood.

"One at a time," Harris demanded, sneering.

"But I-I really have to go. Like medical emergency have to go," he begged. For the first time since cross-country, I cracked a genuine tiny smile.

"Mr. McCall, if your bladder suddenly exploded and urine began to pour from every orifice, I would still respond 'One at a time'," he informed him seriously. "Is that enough hyperbole for you or would you like m to come up with something more vivid?"

"No, no that's…pretty good," Scott sat down, defeated and we shared a glance, hoping Isaac wouldn't act as stupidly as he had been recently.

There came a loud banging on a locker from the hallway and everyone in the classroom hurried to leave the class. Ethan was beaten and bloody on the floor in front of Isaac, but the slight blur of Aiden turning the corner was enough to prove to me that this was a set up.

"What is this? What's going on?" Harris questioned.

Danny knelt next to Ethan. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, he just-he just came at me," Ethan lied and I narrowed my eyes at him.

Harris looked surprised as Isaac gaped. "Isaac, what the hell did you do?"

I didn't know what to think. Why would they do so much just to set Isaac up? What good would even come of that? My head started to pound as problem after problem piled high on top of my list of things we had to figure out.

* * *

I was walking down the hall when I bumped into Aiden, who was about to walk up to Lydia.

"I would say sorry, but I don't lie," I said calmly, trying to sidestep him.

"Don't be so cruel," he purred and I flinched. "Pretty girls like you should be respectful when talking to men."

"You're obviously in the wrong century, then," I retorted. "You don't deserve my respect."

He twirled a piece of my hair between his fingers and I slapped his hand away. "Ouch, babe," he smirked.

"Get away from me," I pushed past him and hurried away.

I heard a locker slam and I turned slightly to see it was Isaac. The metal was bent and he was sending a death glare in Aiden's direction. Scott was trying to talk him down, but it wasn't working.

"Why were you talking to him?" Isaac growled at me as he followed me down the hall. I stopped abruptly and turned to him.

"Are your ears not working today or what?" I interrogated. "Didn't you hear me tell him to get away from me? Maybe you need a replay, so I'll tell you exactly what I told him. _Get away from me._"

"You shouldn't have said anything to him at all," he retorted.

"Seriously? You're going to lecture me about talking to another guy when you're the one eyeing up every girl you come across? You think you can even pretend like I'm the one at fault there?" I ranted, completely done with him.

I knew that a part of me still loved him. A lot. But the way he'd been acting, I was starting to doubt that he felt the same. It made me confused, and that confusion turned ultimately into anger.

"You're the one who won't let me explain," he rolled his eyes. "I didn't even talk to Allison, but you're already assuming I want to leave you for her."

"I never said anything about Allison," I informed him. "Not once. In this entire conversation." He paled and that was all the confirmation I needed.

"No, Zarina," he pleaded.

"It's fine," I shook my head slowly. "It's clear that you've been thinking about her. Hell, she's even on your mind when you're talking to your girlfriend, if that's even what I am anymore."

We were silent as the bell rang and I sighed, blinking the tears out of my vision rapidly.

"Go," I ordered. "You have detention. We'll talk about this some other time. Right now…I can't."

I walked away and turned the corner. I saw Stiles standing in front of Kyle's locker, where memorabilia was already hanging.

"Seems like he was popular," I said behind him and he jumped. "You find anything yet?"

"No, nothing. There doesn't seem to be anything that matches all three victims together. It just, it doesn't make any sense," he sighed, ruffling his spiked up hair. Boyd then walked up to the locker and pinned up a card for the Junior ROTC. "Whoa, hey Boyd, I didn't know you were back at school."

"Yeah, I um, wouldn't told you, but we're not actually friends," he reminded him knowingly.

"Oh, yeah," Stiles replied sheepishly. "Hey, so, did you um, did you know Kyle?"

"Yeah, we were in Junior ROTC together."

"So you two were friends then?" he asked hopefully.

"I only had one friend. She's dead too," he stated somberly and started to walk off.

Feeling my heart clench in sympathy, I told Stiles I'd be back and ran up to him.

"Hey, Boyd!" I called out and he turned, stopping his tread.

"What?" he asked awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," I said weakly. "I know what it's like to lose someone. And I know that sorry just makes it worse, but I thought you deserved to know that you're not alone. If you need someone, I'll be here."

He blanched, eyes wide with surprise. "Why?"

"Because when my parents died, I though I didn't have anyone, too. Everyone deserves someone to turn to," I answered honestly. "We don't even have to be friends, but I can listen if you need to talk."

I waved at him weakly and turned on my heel, ready to return to Kyle's locker when he stopped me.

"Zarina?" I turned and he tipped his head in appreciation. "Thanks."

I smiled and walked away, about to head back to Stiles, when I heard loud banging down the hall. Curious, I hurried over and saw Scott trying to move a vending machine away from the closet door.

"What the hell?" I cried out, helping Scott.

"Isaac's in there with Allison," he filled me in and my heart fell, but I continued to push. It finally gave in and Scott opened the door, pulling a changed Isaac away from Allison, throwing him to the floor.

"Isaac!" Scott yelled and Isaac returned to normal, backing up against a pillar. I glanced up at Scott in surprise. I didn't know he had that kind of power over him.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't- I didn't mean to do that," Isaac apologized shakily, looking up at Allison. She had claw marks on her wrists and Scott went to inspect them.

"It's okay," she said softly.

"I'm so sorry," he told her again and the sincerity and guilt that laced his voice further showed how much he cared about the huntress. Possibly more than me. I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought.

"It's not your fault," I told him quietly, but little to no emotion seeped through. "I know you hate small spaces. I would've freaked out too."

Isaac's eyes flashed to me, wide and appalled, but they softened in gratitude.

"I know it's not his fault," Scott spoke. "I guess now we know they want to do more than get someone angry. They want someone hurt."

"So are we going to do something?" I turned to my friend, who nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going to get them angry. Really angry."

* * *

I stared out the window of our English classroom as Allison and Isaac worked close together, faces almost touching. It hurt, to say the least that Isaac wasn't even bothering to fight for me, but instead going into the huntress' arms. I expected him to at least try, but it seemed that even that was out of the question.

"Okay, everyone. I know this is the last class of the day. To be honest, I want to get out of here, too," Ms. Blake started.

Scott showed me the picture of Isaac he'd just gotten and my heart constricted, but I grinned. Scott and I were seated on either side of the twins' desks. Me on their left and him on their right.

Scott pulled out an object from their bike from his bag, spinning it as he put it on his desk. Aiden straightened as he noticed it, but Ethan stayed calm.

"Looks kind of important," he said nonchalantly.

I pulled another bike part from my own bag and the twins turned to me as I dropped it heavily onto the desk. "Whoa, I don't know what this does at all. I wonder if you can still use the motorcycle without it." I placed my chin in my hand cheekily, grinning. Then a revving engine was heard from outside and I gasped in mock surprise. "I guess you can."

Aiden looked like he was going to explode, and that was exactly what he did. He shot up from his desk and ran out, ignoring Ethan as he called out for him to stop. Ms. Blake looked at us, confused, but followed Aiden out anyways.

The class exited and we made it there before even the teacher could. Scott and I walked up to Isaac, who looked extremely smug. Aiden was holding his helmet, dumbfounded, in front of his bike. I laughed in amusement as Allison came up to us, standing next to Isaac.

"You have got to be kidding me," Ms. Blake breathed out. "You realize this is going to result in a suspension." The four of us smirked in triumph and Scott fist-bumped me. It felt good to wipe that arrogant grin off of the Alpha' face.

* * *

_Music room. Now. Important._

Immediately after getting Stiles' text, I went over to the music room and found him, Lydia, and Deaton all looking around the room. There was a phone in Deaton's hand and a sort of chanting was playing form it.

"What happened?" I asked as I closed the door behind me.

"The music teacher was taken," Stiles informed me, giving me a quick hug before returning to his search.

"Are you sure he's not just missing?" I bit my lip and they nodded. Lydia pointed to some blood and claw marks on the teacher's piano. "Never mind."

"Can we get a copy of this?" Deaton asked over the chanting. Lydia nodded and took the phone as I went to help Stiles rummage through the desk drawers.

"Hey Doc. Any help would be, uh, helpful," Stiles told him.

"Each grouping of three would have its own purpose. Its own type of power. Virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors."

"Warriors, like soldiers?" I asked, holding up a picture of the music teacher in an army uniform.

"Absolutely," Deaton confirmed.

"Kyle was in the ROTC with Boyd," Stiles realized.

"That's got to be it. That's the pattern. Where' Boyd now?" Deaton probed, taking the picture from my hand.

"He's probably at home right now," my friend suggested. "I'm gonna try and get him on the phone. I looked over at Lydia, who had a distinct look on her face.

"Lydia?" I called softly and she looked at me.

"No! It was, um, I mean…" she pursed her lips, "I just thought of someone else with a military connection." Stiles was just hanging up with Boyd as she finished. "Harris."

Stiles and I connected gazes before taking off down the hall, hoping we weren't too late.

* * *

"This is just one of the many possible things. Could have just simply left for the day," Deaton offered, setting down the ledger. As soon as Stiles and I had burst into Harris' room, he wasn't inside.

"Without this?" I held up his briefcase and Deaton sighed.

"Wait, look. He graded this test _R_," Stiles was bent over a test.

"And this one with an _H,_" Lydia showed us another test.

Deaton spread out the tests, but left them in the same order.

"Stiles, you remember that I told you that Druid was the Gaelic word for wise oak?" Deaton looked at him and he nodded.

"If the Druid went down the wrong path, the wise oak was sometimes to become a dark oak," Deaton explained. "There's a Gaelic word for that as well. Darach."

I looked down at the tests and saw that the letter grades spelled out that exact word. Beside me, Stiles gulped.

* * *

**AN: ****_Yeah Zarisaac has hit a bump in the road. Its name is Allison._** _**NAAH jk. LOL. But the plot is thickening, quite so. No one understands how excited I am to write Motel California. BEYOND. EXCITED. It was my hugest favorite TW episode EVER.**_

_**Thank you all for the support! And the way you called Isaac a 'fool' and a 'dick'. Made me laugh so hard. My mom thought I was going insane. LOL.**_

_**Again, make sure to check out my Tumblr. Link is on my page. But in case you're too lazy it's: .com :)**_

_**Please follow/review/fave if you enjoyed. I love you all.**_

_**xx.**_


	18. Eighteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Yay.**

* * *

I sat in the seat besides Stiles and Scott in the back of the bus. Why the stupid cross-country meet was so goddamn far, I wouldn't know.

"What's wrong?" Stiles turned his head to me. "You look bothered by something."

"Nothing's wrong," I told him.

He looked confused, "So why do you look so anxious?"

"_Nothing's_ wrong, Stiles. That's what's wrong," I said, biting my lip.

"I don't get it," he scratched the back of his neck.

"Usually, there's some sort of feeling I have that tells me that my Oracle powers are still present. It's this kind of buzzing in the back of my mind," I explained. "But when I woke up this morning, the feeling was gone."

"What does this mean? Your powers just shut off overnight?" he inquired.

I shrugged, huffing, "Could be. I don't know, I'm probably just being paranoid."

Stiles nodded slowly and turned to Scott, who was leaning his head heavily against the window.

"Yo, Scotty!" he snapped in his face repeatedly. "Hey. Yo, Scotty, you still with me?"

Scott reluctantly lifted his head from the window and I leaned closer to their bench.

"Yeah, sorry. What was the word?" he scratched his temple. Stiles looked down at his iPad.

"Anachronism," he read off.

"Something that exists out of its normal time," Scott answered.

"Okay, next word. Incongruous," Stiles pursed his lips.

"Uh, can you use it in a sentence?" Scott requested.

"It's completely incongruous that we're sitting on a bus right now on our way to some stupid cross country meet after what just happened last night," I stated, pausing. Stiles grinned. "Incongruous."

Scott had told me and Stiles about him meeting up with Deucalion at an abandoned mall and how Isaac got kicked out by Derek, so he was going to stay at Scott's house.

"Out of place, ridiculous, absurd," Scott nodded.

"Perfect," Stiles lifted his thumbs. "Okay, next word. Darach. It's a noun."

Scott and I swiveled our heads to him in perfect unison and he groaned.

"We have to talk about it sometime!" Stiles waved his hands in the air. "Okay? And we're gonna be stuck on this thing for five hours!"

He rested the back of his head on the seat and Scott resumed his position against the window.

"Not now," I patted his hand gently. "Soon, though, okay?"

He cleared his throat and nodded at me. "Next word. Instransigent."

"Stubborn, obstinate," he replied.

The bus bumped and I held on to the seat in front of me to keep balanced. Scott groaned in pain and my eyes shot towards him in worry.

"Oh, buddy you okay?" Stiles asked, but he simply groaned again. "We shouldn't have come. I knew we shouldn't have come." I shushed him and rolled my eyes.

"We had to. There's safety in numbers," Scott told us.

"There's also death in numbers," I mumbled, but they heard me.

"It's called a massacre," Stiles pointed at me. "Or bloodbath, carnage, slaughter, butchering…wow," he was looking down at his tablet and Scott groaned yet again.

"We have to get this bus to pull over," I suggested and Stiles went to get up, but Scott pulled him back down.

"No, no I'm fine," he assured us.

"Well, you don't look fine," Stiles deadpanned and our friend grimaced.

"Let me see," I probed and he lifted his shirt, revealing two, very prominent, and not even close to being healed claw marks.

"Oh, dude," Stiles whispered and I averted my eyes.

"I know it's bad, but it's because it's from an Alpha. It'll take longer to heal," he explained.

"Then how come Boyd and Isaac are fine?" he looked down the bus and I followed his eyes.

My throat constricted when I saw Isaac. We still hadn't talked since the argument in the hallway. I didn't even know if we were still together.

I quickly looked back to Scott, who was still leaning his head against the window.

"I can't believe he's dead. I can't believe Derek's dead," he breathed out.

Stiles and I looked at each other, remorse apparent in our eyes. We never liked Derek, but he wasn't a bad guy. I was done with death and I was done with people I cared about getting so close to dying.

* * *

"Jared. Again? Carsick? Every time. How do you even get on the bus. Look at me," the poor boy looked absolutely sick as he looked up at Finstock. "No! Don't look at me. Look at the horizon. Keep your eyes- Keep your eyes on the horizon." He stood straighter and looked at Scott. "McCall, not you too."

He quickly sat straighter, trying to look fine. "No, Coach. I'm good."

"Scott," I hissed, seeing black blood seeping from his shirt. "You're bleeding and I'm positive that's not only because the wound's from an Alpha."

"He's listening," Stiles piped up, glancing at Ethan.

"Is he going to do something?" Scott asked us.

"Not in front of all these people. Aiden, being the idiot he is, would, but Ethan has more control. He's smarter," I explained.

"Okay, well what about the two ticking time bombs sitting right near him?" Stiles asked.

"Honestly I've been trying to ignore them," I muttered.

"No, they won't. Not here," Scott answered Stiles' question, ignoring my remark. Those two, I knew for a fact, were terrible at keeping their anger in check. They wouldn't let some witnesses stop them from getting revenge on one of the Alphas that basically killed Derek.

"Well what if they do? Are you going to stop them?" Stiles voiced.

"No." They turned to me, mouths gaping. "Not like that. Scotty. If I have to do it, I will."

"But Isa-" he tried to protest but I held a hand up.

"I don't care about Isaac right now," I sighed. "I'll stop them."

"What if they hurt you?" Stiles persisted.

"Better me than someone who can hurt them more," I admitted, looking at him sadly.

"No!" he threw his hands in the air. "Not 'better you' at all! I swear to god if you get hurt, I'm going to go insane."

"Stiles," I scolded. "Just trust me. If worse comes to worse," I pulled out a knife from my combat boot just enough so he could see it, "I'm prepared."

"Fine," he relented, but the way he bit his lip told me that he was still on the fence about the decision.

"Boyd's gonna do something," Scott told me.

"How do you know?" I asked, getting up from my seat.

"Look at his hands," Scott guided and I did so. They were clenching on his lap and I saw the beginnings of claws on his fingertips.

I was about to walk over when Stiles caught me by my wrist. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'll be fine," I smiled at him over my shoulder. "Be back in a second."

I made my way over to Boyd and kneeled in front of him, gently placing my hand over his clenched fist.

"Let. Go," he commanded through clenched teeth.

"You have a plan? You know, before you attack an Alpha on a bus full of witnesses? If you have a plan, then let me know, and I'll let go," I said softly, trying to soothe him. He sent an angry glance at Ethan, who nervously looked down at his phone. "What are you going to do? Kill him? Boyd, we both know you're not capable of murder."

Beside him, Isaac tensed at the familiar words I'd said to him when he found me in Gerard's office. I felt my stomach drop, but I ignored it for the sake of Boyd's wellbeing.

"I don't care," he snarled after a second of debate and he began to struggle under my unwittingly tightening grip. Isaac held him down to the seat.

"I do," I countered. "You know I do."

Still, Boyd continued to struggle and I tried to will my eyes to shift. They didn't. No burning, no buzzing in the back of my head. It never came.

"What's wrong?" Isaac probed when he saw me squeezing my eyes shut in order to trigger something, anything.

_Oh, so now you care?_ I bit back the retort and instead shook my head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." At this point, even Boyd looked concerned, his anger fading gradually.

"Look, I got to go back to check on Scott, but just let us figure something out, okay? Something that doesn't end with someone else dying, Boyd," I commanded him as confidently as I could through my fear that my powers had disappeared.

He nodded slowly, hesitant, "Okay." He sat back in the seat and I gave his hand a final squeeze before standing up.

"Zarina," Isaac started.

"I said nothing's wrong," I cut him off, harsher than intended, so I softened. "Just, don't worry about it."

I walked back to my seat next to Stiles and he turned to me. "Crisis averted?"

"For the most part," I replied. He seemed to get the double meaning and raised and eyebrow.

"_I'll tell you later,_" I mouthed and he pursed his lips, but nodded.

"We have another problem," Stiles informed us. "Ethan keeps checking his phone like every 5 minutes. It's like he's waiting for something. Like a message or signal of some kind. I don't know, something evil, I can tell. I have a very perceptive eye for evil, but you know that."

I laughed lightly and nodded in agreement. He did. But I could barely pay any more attention to his rambling as my thoughts drifted to how easily Ethan could kill Danny if he really wanted to. And I wouldn't be able to stop it because my powers had gone….somewhere. Or had just left entirely. I hoped it was the former.

"I don't like him sitting next to Danny," my eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, neither do I," Stiles sat up and got his phone out of his pocket. "I'm going to see what he's waiting for."

"What are you doing?" Scott questioned, leaning over.

"I'm going to ask," he replied simply and I smiled as he sent a text to Danny.

He turned back to us in his seat and Stiles gave him a smile, nodding and pointing at him. Danny mouthed no, rolling his eyes. He turned back in his seat and Stiles texted him again, just to get the same answer. Stiles made a face and texted him again. Danny looked back at us again and shook his head, obviously irritated, and put his phone in his pocket.

Stiles breathed out and his tongue poked out from the corner of his mouth as he texted Danny repeatedly. I giggled behind my hand as multiple 'dings' were heard in the bus. Ethan finally looked at Danny, curious and Danny smiled back at him sheepishly.

Suddenly, Ethan turned to the three of us and Stiles grabbed Scott and me by the arms to pull us down into our chairs.

"Well that wasn't very subtle," Stiles groaned as Ethan turned away and we sat up again. I finally saw Danny talking to Ethan and a minute later, Stiles' phone dinged.

"What's it say?" I leaned closer to him, our faces almost touching so I could read his phone.

"Someone close to him is sick. Might not make it through the night," I read aloud, the heat from Stiles' cheek radiating onto my face. I turned my head towards him slightly so I could look up at him. He turned to me too and I was suddenly very aware of how close we were.

"Ennis?" I whispered and Stiles nodded. I remained close to him for a quick second, trying to sort out the feelings I felt in my stomach, before pulling away with a tiny smile.

"Okay, then does that mean-" Stiles offered after he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"He's not dead," Scott intervened.

"No, I don't think so," I ran a hand through my hair. "At least, not yet."

* * *

"Coach, it's five minutes for a bathroom break okay?" Stiles was standing in front of coach, trying to reason with him to pull the bus over.

"We've been on this thing for like three hours-"

Finstock whistled, effectively cutting him off. I hid my smile.

"It's sixty miles to the next rest stop-"

Whistle.

"Being cooped up for hours is not good-"

Whistle.

"Out bladders aren't exactly-"

Whistle. Stiles huffed and reopened his mouth, but before any sound could escape, another whistle sounded. I got the strange urge to smack that whistle out of his hand.

"Coach, maybe he's right!" I piped up from my seat.

Whistle. Twice. I groaned, hitting my head repeatedly on the seat in front of me.

"Please-"

Whistle. Stiles was going to lose it. I could see it in his eyes.

"Let me talk!" Yep, there it was. His eyes were bugged out and his voice was loud. "I'm-"

Whistle. Then a laugh.

"Every time-"

A really long, ear-piercing whistle. Stiles was shaking in anger and his hand gripped the seat nearby until his knuckles were white, his face contorting as Finstock blew his whistle over and over.

"Get back to your seat, Stilinski!" Finstock finally let go of his whistle.

"OKAY!" Stiles yelled breathing hard.

He wiped his nose with his sleeve and turned away from coach.

"And Jared, keep your eyes on the horizon," Finstock instructed.

Suddenly, Stiles looked up slowly, a look on his face that suggested that what he was about to do was not good. He turned and hurried into the spot next to Jared. Well, this couldn't be good.

* * *

"Jared, you suck!" Coach yelled out as he sprayed the bus with air freshener. "Hey somebody grab some towels. Or a mop. Or a new bus."

Stiles and I hurried Scott over to the men's room, Allison and Lydia following closely behind us. We locked the door behind us once everyone was inside and we gently laid him on the floor as Allison lifted his shirt. The wound was covered with another layer of dark blood.

"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell us?" she gasped.

"Sorry," he muttered, barely awake.

"Okay, just give us a second," she told him, smiling weakly. She stood up and faced us, taking a few steps closer. "This shouldn't be happening."

"She's right, he's come back from worse than this," I bit my lip, glancing down at my friend. "He should've at least started healing by now."

"What if it's psychological?" Lydia figured.

"Like psychosomatic?" Stiles offered.

"Yeah, but more specifically, he's a somatoform," I added and Stiles looked at me confusedly. "He believes he's still hurt, therefore making him unable to heal."

"Exactly," Lydia nodded. "A physical illness from a psychogenic cause." Everyone besides the two of us looked confused and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's all in his head."

"All in his head?" Stiles looked down at him. "Because of Derek. He's not letting himself heal because Derek died."

"So what do we do?" Allison asked nervously.

"Stitch him up?" Lydia shrugged, pulling out a needle and thread. Allison took a deep breath. "I'm serious. Maybe all he needs to do is just believe it's healing."

"Yes!" I agreed. Maybe stopping the bleeding will trigger the healing process." I looked over at Allison, who reluctantly nodded, accepting the job.

She took the tools from Lydia and hurriedly set up her own littler area. She ran a lighter flame along the sharp needle and I looked away.

"He's going to need another shirt. Where's his bag?" she didn't look up at us, still heating up the needle.

"I'll get it. I hate needles anyways," Stiles gulped. "So, uh, do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, my father taught me," Allison sounded confident. Yet another thing I was envious of. Her extreme confidence in herself.

"I mean how fast are you going to….I mean the bus, like the bus could leave," he fidgeted.

"Well, you just have to make sure it doesn't leave."

I looked away from the needle and grabbed Stiles' arm. "Yeah, we'll do that. Just, please, help him." Allison nodded at me and I dragged Stiles out of the bathroom with me.

"He'll be fine," he reassured me, and I squeezed his arm. "He has to be."

I nodded and we walked over to the bus.

* * *

After basically doing what we had to do, Stiles and I were standing outside the bathroom, waiting for Scott to come out. I kept playing with my fingers nervously.

"Do you want to tell me what happened on the bus with Boyd?" he broke our silence.

"My powers- they're gone," I said slowly.

"What do you mean they're gone?" he asked, a little too loudly. He looked around cautiously and bent his head closer to mine.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Stiles repeated, whispering harshly. I rolled my eyes.

"When I tried to get my eyes to shift to try and scare Boyd into listening to me, they wouldn't," I explained, feeling powerless. Literally. "Nothing happened. Nada. Zilch. Not even when I squeezed my eyes shut."

The two of us were silent and I felt myself shake in fear.

"What if I don't even get them back?" I looked into his hazel orbs sadly. "I'll be even more useless than I was before."

"Hey, don't say that," he grabbed both my hands in his. "You're not useless. With or without powers, you're pretty freakin' special, so don't think that just because you're an Oracle, that it defines who you are."

I hated how he could do that to me. How he could spew a few sentences telling me how great he thought I was and immediately butterflies would explode in my stomach and all my worries would dissipate. But at the same time, I really liked how it felt.

As I looked up at this boy, who had shown me only care and affection since the moment we'd met, I felt safe. My gaze went to his slightly parted lips and back to his eyes and I saw his do the same.

He bent down further and I lifted my face softly, completely lost in the moment. Just as my eyes fluttered closed and I could feel the presence of his lips just an inch from mine, Finstock's irritating whistle sounded.

We jumped away from each other awkwardly, my back hitting the wall as I became flustered. I didn't even realize what we were doing until then. It just felt right. I almost felt guilty because I was technically still with Isaac, but then again, that didn't stop him from getting that close to Allison.

"We should, uh, go," Stiles stuttered and held out a hand for me.

I took it graciously and we started towards the bus. Then, we saw Isaac knock Ethan into a tree and stopped. Sending each other a glance, we hurried over to them and pushed through the crowd.

"Isaac! Stop, you're gonna kill him!" I yelled at him, though I didn't dare get closer. I watched as Danny tried to do just that and was thrown to the ground with ease. "Isaac!"

Stiles pulled me back towards his body with the hand linked to mine as Scott came through and I felt a rush of relief that he was okay.

"Isaac!" Scott roared.

And Isaac finally stopped. Not gradually. All at once. He turned to Scott slowly and seemed to realize that he'd attracted a crowd. Danny hurried over to his boyfriend, helping him up. I looked slightly over my shoulder at Stiles before turning my eyes back to Isaac, who looked ashamed.

* * *

"How are your knuckles?" I asked Isaac hesitantly, referring to how he'd busted them beating Ethan to a pulp.

I was stuck next to him for the rest of the bus ride, since everyone else had already buddied up, and the silence was killing me.

Isaac turned to face me, surprised. "They're, um, they're okay."

"Good," I smiled tightly at him and glanced down at his already healed knuckles. He returned the smile and looked out the window.

"Alright let's go over this once more time," Stiles was saying in front of me. I leaned forward to rest my chin on his shoulder.

"It's the sacrifices, right? And everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's like a dark Druid," Stiles summarized.

"Or actually is a dark Druid," Lydia added, moving some hair behind her ear.

"A Darach," I clarified.

"You know, some ancient cultures sacrifice people…in preparation for battle," she looked up at the two of us.

"So we got Alpha werewolves against a dark Druid," Stiles rubbed a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, basically," I sighed out.

I leaned back into my seat and looked over at Isaac, whose eyes were glazed over.

"I'm sorry that Derek died," I told him softly. "He didn't deserve that."

"I'm sorry too," he replied and I knew he wasn't just talking about Derek. He was talking about us too. "_You_ didn't deserve that."

I pulled my lips in and blinked, shifting my eyes away from him. I felt his hand grasp mine.

No spark.

No butterflies.

Somehow, I knew he noticed the lack of the two sensations as well. This was enough to answer the questions I had swimming around in my head. We still loved each other, might always, but things weren't the same, and we realized that. They never would be.

Still, there was a certain warmth that I didn't realize I had missed. I turned my gaze back to him. He had returned to looking back out the window, except this time, a tiny grin adorned his face.

* * *

**AN: ****_So basically Zarisaac is unofficially over cause they haven't broken up yet, so you'll have to wait for that. Apologies. AND STIRINA ALMOST KISSES CAN I GET A HOOYYEAAAH? I am so excited to write next chapter omg. Can't wait!_**

**_Sorry for the late update! I had a volleyball tourney (got champions btw yay) and then I had to do homework and then I wrote this, so sorry if you waited too long. I hate making people wait. ugh._**

**_Thank you so incredibly much for all the support and love. It really warms my heart to see all of you guys so happy with my writing. Motivational stuff man._**

**_Please review/fave/follow if you enjoyed! Every little thing is of huge support to me. Love you guys._**

**_xx._**


	19. Nineteen

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Woop.**

* * *

"You're kidding," I said as I stepped out of the bus beside Scott and Stiles. The entire team was being forced to stay at this old, disgusting motel in the middle of nowhere. "This place looks like a murder house."

"I've seen worse," Scott shrugged and Stiles and I gaped at him.

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles scoffed.

"I don't like this, guys," I whispered.

"Why? Did you see something?" Scott asked. Stiles and I immediately stiffened. We totally forgot to fill him in.

"Um, I don't think I'll be able to see _anything _at the moment, Scotty," I informed him.

"What? Why?" he hissed, eyes wide.

A familiar whistle sounded and I sighed. "I'll tell you later."

"Listen up. The meet's been pushed 'til tomorrow," Finstock told us, holding room keys in his hand. "This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and the least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of denigrates like you. You'll be pairing up, choose wisely." He waved the keys around.

I took a key from Coach's hand and motioned for Scott and Stiles to follow me as I walked past him.

"And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetuated by you little deviants! Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!" he warned.

I stopped in my tracks and looked up at the motel, my two friends stopping beside me. This entire thing gave me a bad feeling, even without my abilities. I wanted desperately to grab everyone and throw them back on the bus.

Scott patted me on the back supportively. "It's just a few hours," I turned to him and he grinned. I returned it tightly, trying to be as confident as he was, but I knew it wasn't working.

With one more nervous glance at the slightly flickering letters of the huge sign that read: **Glen Capri**, I followed them up the stairs.

* * *

The three of us were laying on the beds that were in our room. Stiles and I on the one we were going to share and Scott on the other. I shivered at the temperature. Of course, as completely run down as that place was, it had no heater.

Stiles noticed this and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his body with a shy smile. I snuggled into him, grateful for the extra warmth.

"Alright, I have four!" Stiles held up his fingers on his other hand.

"That was fast," I mumbled, leaning my head on his chest.

"What are your theories?" Scott asked him, still staring at the ceiling.

"It was originally ten," he admitted. "Well, nine, technically. I guess. I had Derek on there twice." I rolled my eyes.

"So who's number one? Harris?" Scott interrogated.

"Just because he's missing, doesn't mean his dead."

"So, if he's not dead, then our chemistry teacher is out secretly committing human sacrifices?" Scott summarized.

"Yeah, I guess it just sounded way better in my head," Stiles sighed and I felt his warm breath hit the top of my head.

"What if it's someone else from the school? It's happened before," I suggested. "With Matt."

"But even then we didn't know he was killing people," Scott argued.

Stiles suddenly shot from the bed, his warmth leaving me immediately. He looked down at Scott, insulted.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, what? Yes, we did. I called that from day one, actually," he reminded him.

"Yeah, but we never seriously thought it was Matt."

"I was serious! I was quite serious, actually," he pointed to himself. "Deadly serious. No one listened to me. Didn't I tell him?" He looked at me pleadingly.

"He did," I agreed.

"Who are the other three?" Scott brushed off the Matt topic.

"Derek's sister, Cora," Stiles responded. "No one knows anything about her and she's Derek's sister." I silently agreed, propping myself up on my elbows so I could look at him. "Next, your boss."

"Deaton? What's up with your suspicious attitude towards him?" I groaned.

He shrugged. "Yeah, him. I don't really like the Obi-Wan thing he's got going on, you know. It freaks me out."

"Well, I'm kind of his Luke Skywalker, Sti. He's still teaching me to use the force," I fell into a fit of giggles and Stiles poked my sides. Once I sobered up, we turned to Scott, who looked clueless. "You're not my friend anymore. Nope."

"Oh my god. Have you not seen Star Wars?" he caught on.

"It has one of the best musical scores, like, ever! Not to mention it's the best freaking movie in cinematic history!" I screeched. "What's wrong with you?"

"I swear, if we make it back alive, I will watch the movie," Scott promised.

Stiles simply shook his head. "Just makes me crazy."

"Who was the last one?" I prodded, kicking him with my foot.

"Uh, Lydia," Stiles revealed and he sat down next to me as I shot upwards. "She was totally controlled by Peter, and she had no idea, so…"

"She's something," I voiced. "But she's _not_ a killer."

Then the three of us fell back onto our beds simultaneously, both our minds and bodies completely worn out.

* * *

Stiles and I hurried down the steps to the vending machine, pushing each other teasingly. We saw Boyd standing in front of the machine and walked up to him.

"Hey Boyd," I greeted politely. He didn't reply, just blankly pressed the buttons on the machine for his snack.

"That was the same thing I was gonna get," Stiles grinned as he noticed that Boyd was getting crackers. Again, Boyd stayed silent. I watched him warily as the crackers got stuck in the machine.

"Oh," Stiles said. "Hang on, I got a patented method for this, don't worry." He put his money in his back pocket and looked at Boyd before adjusting his hands on top of the machine.

"God, no Stiles, stop," I complained. "You remember what happened last time you did this?"

I was remembering the time at the hospital where he performed his 'patented method' and completely knocked the vending machine over.

However, before Stiles could shake it, Boyd sent his fist through the glass and shattered it. Stiles and I froze, turning towards Boyd with wide eyes. He took the crackers out of the machine and walked away, both of us still in shock.

"Or you could just do that. That works too," I said slowly.

Stiles quickly took three bags of food from the machine and grabbed my arm, lugging me back up to our room. We leaned on the ledge of the railing, me snatching some of his food every once in a while.

"What's up with you and Isaac?" Stiles asked abruptly and I turned my head to him, eyebrow raised. "It's just I saw you guys holding hands on the bus, so I assumed."

"I don't even know what's going on there," I sighed and ruffled my hair. "We haven't really gotten a chance to talk about…well, anything."

"But you still love him, don't you?" his eyes held a certain depth of sadness and he said this.

"Yeah," I nodded. "But not the way I used to."

"What do you mean?" he questioned, eyebrows furrowed.

"Things, well in my perspective, may have gotten too serious too fast. Maybe that's why we're kind of just not working anymore," I looked back out to the bus that was parked in front of the motel.

"Do you still want to be with him? After everything that's happened?"

"I thought I did. But looking at it now, I just- I don't see it going anywhere except heartbreak and ultimate disappointment."

Stiles hummed and ate another cracker. "What're you gonna do?" he licked his lips.

"Let him know, I guess," I replied unsurely. "I mean, there's nothing left for me to do. He's already practically in love with Allison by now."

"Really?" Stiles sounded shocked. "Never would've guessed that."

"Yeah," I laughed humorlessly. "Neither would I."

Stiles scooted closer to me so our arms were touching and I swiveled my head to him slowly, meeting his gaze.

"What?" I smiled lightly.

"I just don't get how Isaac could waste a chance with someone like you," his voice was soft.

"He didn't waste it," I bit my lip and Stiles gave me a look. "Okay, so maybe he kind of wasted it, but…"

Stiles chuckled, shaking his head. "Let's get ready for bed. It's late."

I nodded and we unlocked the door, stepping into the room. Scott was standing by the window on his phone, so we decided to leave him alone. Stiles motioned that he was going into the bathroom and I nodded, falling back onto the bed. I heard the light sounds of him brushing his teeth and I let my eyes shut for a second.

Suddenly, I heard Scott's harsh breathing and I shot out of the bed, walking to him and putting a hand on his arm. Stiles exited the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

"Scott, you okay?" I asked gently. He turned quickly around and didn't reply as he looked back out the window. I followed his eyes, but nothing was out there but the parking lot. Weird. Stiles was checking his phone and he sent me a look, telling me to follow him back into the bathroom.

I watched as Scott nervously kept his eyes out the window. I didn't know what was wrong, but I decided not to push it. I went into the bathroom and Stiles showed me the text Lydia has just sent him.

_Need to talk. You and Zarina._

* * *

"Last time I saw Scott act like that was on a full moon," Allison told us, pacing around the room.

"Scott was definitely a little off with us too," Stiles glanced at me.

"But, Boyd was pretty off, too," I added. "We saw him put his fist through a vending machine."

"See? It is the motel," Lydia pointed out. "Either we need to get us out of here right now or.." she pulled a Bible out from a drawer, "someone needs to learn how to perform an exorcism ASAP before the werewolves go crazy and kill us."

"Okay, hold on. What if it's not just the motel?" Stiles suggested. "The number in the office went up by three, right?"

"Like three sacrifices," I offered and he nodded.

"What if this time it's three werewolves?" he took a step towards me nervously.

"Scott, Isaac, and Boyd," Allison muttered.

"So, what, do you think we were meant to go here?" I inquired.

"Exactly! So can we get the hell out of here now?" Lydia pleaded. "Please?" But Stiles' eye was stuck on the Bible.

"Wait, hold on," he grabbed the Bible and flipped through the pages until he finally pulled out a newspaper article.

"Twenty-eight year old man kills himself at the infamous Glen Capri," Stiles read.

He put the article onto the bed and went to the next bookmarked page, where another article was placed. Instead of flipping through the rest, he simply raised it upside down and shook the page, articles flittering onto the bed.

"Look, there's tow that mention suicides in room two seventeen," I gestured to them. "Isn't that this room?" I looked up at Stiles.

"And every room has a Bible…" Allison paused.

"There could be articles in every room," Lydia deducted.

"It's a beautiful thing. Most places just leave a mint under the pillow. This one has a record of all the horrible deaths that occur," Stiles mused, hands flailing wildly.

"What if the room next door has the one about the couple I heard before?" Lydia wondered.

We all hurried out the door and when we got to the room Lydia was talking about, Stiles jiggled the doorknob. Locked. He did it once more for good measure, then looked back at Lydia.

"It wasn't locked before," she faltered.

"Forget it! Look, we need to get Scott, Isaac, and Boyd out of here," Allison demanded, looking down the hall.

Stiles nodded and started to walk past us. The three of us went to follow him when a whizzing sound came from the room.

"No way. Please tell me I'm not imagining that," I announced shakily, pressing my ear up against the door.

"It sounds like a handsaw," Lydia realized.

"_Handsaw?!_" Stiles came rushing back to us.

I grabbed the knife from my boot and picked the lock with the tip, fumbling with it as I did so. It swung open and revealed Ethan lowering the handsaw to his stomach.

"Hey, no! Ethan!" Stiles lunged straight past me, grabbing the tool.

He wrestled with the werewolf, doing his utmost to avoid Ethan and the handsaw at the same time. I looked around for something to help, but found nothing. Ethan suddenly dropped the handsaw and tripped Stiles, but thankfully, Lydia pulled the plug before he could land face first onto it. I almost sighed in relief, but Ethan brought out his claws, going for his stomach.

I threw the knife in my hand towards his and it hit its mark, hitting him straight in the middle of the back of his hand. He took it out with ease and returned to trying to claw at himself, but Stiles and Allison grabbed his hands. He fumbled to the ground after a while, his hand pressed against the heater. Ethan yelled in pain and rolled to the side, back to normal. He looked up at us, eyes flashing before he bolted out of the room.

"Ethan!" Stiles called out. I grabbed my knife from the ground and followed them.

"I don't know how I got there, or what I was doing," he explained, hurrying down the stairs.

"Okay, you could be a little bit more helpful you know! We did just save your life," Stiles shouted after him.

"And you probably shouldn't have," he retorted, going back into his motel room.

"What do we do now?" I rubbed my face, exasperated.

"I'll find Scott," Allison volunteered. "You three try to find Isaac and Boyd. The best thing we can do is get them out of here." She then proceeded up the stairs, leaving the three of us alone.

She started for the stairs, but looked back at the two of us.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Stiles and I looked at each other, the same looks on our faces.

"Oh, no I was-"

"Stiles," she cut him off harshly.

"Alright, I didn't want to say anything, but this, everything we're going through, we've kinda been through it before," Stiles explained.

"What do you mean?" she crossed her arms.

"Your birthday party. The punch was poisoned with wolfsbane," I clarified, the memory still fresh in my mind.

Lydia went from freaked out to angry in a matter of two seconds. Then she gulped and walked away from us.

"Lydia, wait!" I called out and we went after her. "We're sorry, we didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, we just meant that maybe, maybe you're somehow involved in getting people to kill themselves! You know? Which now that I say that out loud, it sounds really terrible so I'm just-"

"Stiles," her stern voice cut him off. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" he looked around confusedly.

He gazed at me, but I shrugged, not knowing what she was talking about. Lydia crouched down over a drain, hands on either side.

"Lydia?" I took a cautious step towards her.

"A baby's crying," she said. "I hear…I hear water running." Her breathing turned harsh and she looked scared.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "She's drowning the baby." Then she stood. "Someone's drowning!"

The three of us sprinted into Boyd and Isaac's room, not minding the loud bang the door created as it opened. Stiles pulled up his sleeves as we rushed into the bathroom to find Boyd underwater, a safe on top of his body. Stiles plunged his hands into the water, trying to unplug the drain.

"He blocked the drain with something!" he cried out.

I pulled on the safe, trying to get it out, but it was too heavy, even with Lydia's help.

"Is he dead?" Lydia asked us. "How long can a werewolf survive underwater?"

"You think I'd know that?" he answered hysterically.

Stiles got to his feet and yelped when his hand touched the heater behind him.

"Wait a sec, the heater. Ethan came to when he touched the heater," Stiles realized.

"There are flares in the bus. Under the seat, the have their own oxidizers, they can burn under water!" Lydia informed him hurriedly.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes! Now, go!" I commanded and he did so.

Lydia was trying to lift the safe off of Boyd again when I heard it. A whimper. I walked into the room and looked at the bed when another whimper sounded from underneath. I got on all fours and pulled up the cover, looking inside. Isaac's terrified face stared back at me. I gasped and he grimaced in fear.

"Isaac? Isaac, honey, it's okay," I cooed soothingly. "It's just me."

He shook, sweat beading on his face and I wondered how long it'd been since he got under there.

"There were three, but I got two in case we find Isaac," Stiles entered the room and I grabbed one of the flares.

"Already found him," I said. "Go help Boyd."

He nodded and entered the bathroom. I lit the flare with the cap and looked back under the bed.

"Hey, Isaac," I whispered. "Hope you're cold."

I placed the flare by his face and he rolled out from under the bed. Isaac stood shakily, eyes wide and breathing uneven.

"Wh-What happened?" he asked me, looking at the flare.

"It's nothing," I assured him, smiling. "You'll be okay."

Stiles and Lydia came out of the bathroom and I nodded at them.

"You and Boyd get your things, okay? We have to find Scott, but we are not staying in this motel anymore," I instructed him and he nodded.

* * *

"I can't find Scott anywhere," Allison told us, leading us down the stairs.

"It's happening to him too, isn't it?" Stiles asked.

"Has to be," Lydia confirmed.

"Wait, didn't you say there was another flare on the bus?" I looked at Stiles.

"Yeah, I'll get it," he said.

But we didn't have to. Once we got to the parking lot, we found Scott holding the last flare in one hand and a liquid dripping off him and surrounding his feet. I sniffed the air. Gasoline. We carefully walked in font of him.

"Scott?" Allison called out softly.

"There's not hope," Scott's voice was gravelly with emotion.

"What do you mean, Scott? There's always hope," Allison assured through her tears.

"Not for me. Not for Derek." The scent of gas was overwhelming me and I felt my fear escalate to new heights.

"Derek wasn't your fault," Allison disagreed. "You know Derek wasn't your fault."

"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt, people keep getting killed."

"Scott," I walked towards him slowly. I couldn't let my best friend do this. "Listen to me. This isn't you. None of this is you. Someone's in your head, telling you to do this." My voice wavered as tears spilled from my eyes.

"What if it isn't? What if it is just me?" he sounded like he was tired of everything and I blinked, more tears dripping from my eyes. "What if this is the best thing that I could do for everyone else?" He was done with hope. It was written all over his face.

"It started that night. The night I got bitten," he continued. "You remember the way it was before that?" He looked at me and Stiles. "Us? We were nothing. We weren't popular. Stiles and me weren't good at lacrosse." He was shivering and Stiles walked up next to me, tears crowding his eyes. I grabbed his hand.

"We weren't important," Scott's voice was so depressed. So empty. "We were no one."

"Maybe I should just be no one again," the sadness was replaced by determination. "No one at all." His hand moved and immediately me and Stiles moved closer.

"Scott, just listen to me," Stiles' voice and hand were shaky. "You're not no one, okay? You're someone. Scott, you're our best friend." He led me another step closer to Scott. "Okay? And we need you." Another step. "Scott, you're my _brother_. Alright? So…"

The two of us stepped into the gas puddle and the three of us formed a little triangle. The tears were falling down my face, but I kept myself strong and confident.

"If you're gonna do this, then you're gonna have to take us with you," I said. "The three of us together, or not at all. That's how it's always been. It's how it'll always be."

Stiles took his hand from mine and wrapped it around the flare. I watched as he slowly took it out of Scott's hand and chucked it away from the three of us. We stared at each other in relief and happiness, not noticing the gust of wind that'd blown the flare into the gas puddle nearby.

"No!" Lydia yelled out, crashing into the three of us and sending us to the ground just as the flames erupted.

I looked back to the explosion, the heat making my face warm, but my body went rigid as a scarred face that wore black clothes stared out at me from the flames before disappearing entirely, taking the fire with it.

* * *

I wrapped my two best friends in a hug as we recovered from what'd just occurred. They wrapped their arms around me tightly and I sighed into their shoulders.

"Sometimes I wonder why I do these things for you guys," I mumbled and I felt their chests rumble as they laughed. We pulled away from each other and smiled.

"Because you love us," Scott said, grinning.

"And we're your best friends," Stiles finished.

I snorted. "Yeah, I guess," I teased.

"Wow, way to sound confident," Scott pouted and I punched his shoulder.

"I really am glad you're okay, though, Scotty," I looked up at him. "You scared me there for a second."

"I know, I'm sorry," he sighed out. "I won't do it again, if I can help it."

"That's the spirit," Stiles pitched in, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

The three of us laughed and it almost felt like we were kids again. Being with each other without any cares in the world. I missed it.

* * *

"I don't want to know," Finstock's voice made my head jolt upwards from Stiles' shoulder. The bus was a better alternative than the motel, so that's where we slept. All night. Very uncomfortably.

"But in case you missed the announcement, the meet's cancelled. We're going home," he informed us.

I looked at Stiles, who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He caught my eye and gave me a smile. I returned it and nudged his shoulder with mine as thanks.

"Hey, Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?" Lydia asked, taking Finstock's whistle.

She sat back down on the bench and blew it into her hand. Then she held up her white-dust covered hand.

"Wolfsbane," she revealed.

"So ever time Coach blew the whistle on the bus, Scott, Isaac, Boyd-" Stiles began.

"And Ethan," I pitched in.

"We all inhaled it," Scott said.

"You were all poisoned by it," Allison continued.

"That's how the Darach got in their heads," Stiles licked his lips and we looked at each other. He grabbed the whistle and I opened the window behind me. He chucked it out, ignoring Finstock's yelling for him to stop.

"Thank god," I said, closing the window. "I've been wanting to do that since the trip started." I relaxed in my seat next to Stiles, who laughed.

"Me too, Z," he placed his head on top of mine. "Me too."

* * *

**AN: ****_I'm actually kind of proud. Took a while for me to do this what with homework and the new ep distracting me. BUT IT'S DONE. and it's not as bad as it could be. So yeah. Proud of that. Please check out my tumblr! My URL is "cl4ustrophobe"_** **_and I made some TH&TL gifs and such on there. It's a good time._**

**_Thanks for all the support, please try and continue all the faves/reviews/follows. This AN would be more exciting but it's 12 AM and I'm tired, so I'll be back soon. Love ya'll._**

_**xx.**_


	20. Twenty

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Just my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I unwrapped my arms from Scott's waist and hopped off of his bike, throwing him the helmet he'd let me borrow. He caught it and stuffed it in his backpack, leading me into the hospital.

"Jesus," I mumbled. The entire building was jam-packed with doctors, nurses, and patients alike, all bustling around. Scott chuckled and we continued further into the hospital.

"There she is," he pointed out his mom. We carefully made our way towards her and she smiled seeing the food in Scott's hands.

"Oh, I'm starving," she placed the food on the counter. "Thank you two for bringing me dinner" She hugged us and I squeezed her extra tight. Melissa was my second mom. She was there for me when mine couldn't.

"It's no problem. Why's the hospital so packed?" I asked her, slightly leaning my body so that a nurse could rush past me.

Melissa looked exhausted as she sighed. "There are half of the accident victims in a ten car pile up being rerouted here from downtown," she explained. "And the E.R attendee isn't answering any of his pages."

"Wait, what does not answering his pages mean?" Scott questioned.

"It means nobody can find him, so we have to wait for the on call to get here," she clarified. There were too many people for one hospital. I was surprised she was still standing with all this stress.

"Miss, excuse me," a hurt woman came up behind Melissa. "C-Can I please have something for the pain?" I bit my lip in sympathy.

Melissa helped the lady sit down, "I'm sorry. I know, but, actually, giving you something could complicate things. We really need to wait for the doctors, okay?" The woman nodded weakly and Melissa went to ask when the doctor would arrive.

Scott and I took seats next to her and I tried to look reassuring.

"I hate hospitals," I told her. "Bad memories and they're just really nerve racking places."

"I heard somewhere that human contact can help with the pain," Scott continued. "That it'll help release some of it."

He took her hand and I watched as the dark veins grew on his own, extracting the pain from her body. The lady looked up at Scott, relieved that some of the pain had left.

"Someone! Someone help me! I need help!" Scott and I stood up, looking towards the hallway. Ethan was dragging in a very pallid looking Danny and I gasped. I ran towards Danny and wrapped an arm around him, trying to support some of his weight.

"Dee, it's okay, we'll help you, alright?" I soothed him.

"Okay, gentle, gentle, gentle," Ethan instructed as we settled Danny on the floor. He yelled out in pain and I flinched. Something was definitely internally wrong with him.

Ms. McCall came towards us and tried to examine him, but Scott shoved Ethan against the wall, anger apparent in his eyes. I secretly cheered him on. I wouldn't let anyone I cared about get hurt without retribution.

"What did you do?" he growled.

"Nothing!" he snapped, pushing Scott off of him. "He said he was having chest pains and trouble breathing, but it just kept getting worse."

I looked over at Melissa, who was even more worried than before. "This is not good." She checked his chest and based on the way her body stiffened, it wasn't good. She looked back at another nurse. "How much longer on doctor Hillyard? His larynx is shifted to his side?"

"Where's my brother?" I suggested. "Can't he help?"

"I haven't seen him all night," Melissa admitted and I sighed.

We helped Danny up and I kept my arm firmly around his torso. He was leaning heavily on me and I didn't know how much longer I could keep him up, but I would keep trying.

"What's wrong with him?" Scott asked him mom.

"I think he has tension pneumothorax," she informed him as Danny fell to his knees, puking up the contents of his stomach. There was a kind of plant that was mixed in with everything else, and I thought it looked familiar. I helped Danny into a chair and rubbed his back.

"Mistletoe," I just barely heard Ethan whisper.

"Alright, we have to get him onto a gurney," Melissa directed us calmly. She nodded to a nurse, who helped us put him onto the wheeling bed. We pushed him into a room and I shut the door quickly.

"Will you guys please go back into the waiting room?" she begged us, but we didn't move. She sighed.

"Where are the nurses and doctors? Where is everyone?" Ethan looked around the ER anxiously, clearly worried for his boyfriend.

"It's a full house tonight. They're tending to other patients," Melissa told him.

I stood next to Danny's weak form, watching him, but not daring to touch him in fear of causing him more pain.

"O-Okay, well, mom," Scott started. "How can we help?"

"Honey, you can't," she sighed. "His lung collapsed. His heart is being pushed against his chest cavity…" My stomach churned and I summarized her words to: he was basically getting closer and closer to death by the second.

"He's going to die, isn't he?" Scott panicked.

"No!" I argued. "He can't die. He can't, okay? We have to do something. Anything."

I looked to Melissa, pleading. Danny was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. Even when I was a social outcast, he became my friend and I considered him a brother.

"Scott, grab the tape," she commanded. "Zarina, use the scissors and cut off his shirt." I hurriedly fumbled with the scissors and did so, trying to avoid cutting his skin.

"Mom, he's not breathing!" Scott cried out.

"I know that," she replied simply, and I looked over my shoulder to see her grabbing a needle from the drawer, hands encased in gloves. Scott grabbed my wrist and squeezed it gently. Melissa pushed the needle into his chest and liquid filled it.

A second passed. Then another. Danny inhaled harshly before letting it out and I felt myself release my own breath. He looked over at the nurse and smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"No problem," she smiled and looked up at her son. "What?"

"That was awesome," we said in unison.

She laughed timidly. "It was no problem, you now. It was no big deal."

"It was a very big deal," I disagreed. "You're amazing, Melissa."

* * *

Stiles met us outside the hospital. Scott immediately filled him in, talking in hushed tones. We also let him in on how we'd seen the on-call doctor's car roll up into the parking lot without a driver. The sheriff came up to us to get our story.

"Two missing-" Scott started, but the sheriff held up a hand.

"Wait, wait, so they were both in the car?" he interrogated.

"No, Dad, he's trying to tell you that it was two separate kidnappings," Stiles answered. I crossed my arms as a cool breeze blew by. "Okay? Two doctors, both gone." He held up two fingers.

"So who's car is this?" the sheriff gesture to it.

"Dr. Hillard's," Melissa responded, walking over to us. "The on-call doctor. The ER attendee is the one that never made it in."

"let me just focus on getting your story for a second," he said to her.

"Yup," she nodded agreeing.

"Guys, give us a second?" he dismissed us.

We walked over closer to the entrance of the hospital and I leaned against the wall.

"These are definitely sacrifices, right?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, it's one Deaton mentioned. Healers," Stiles responded and my heart stopped, then picked up speed.

_Healers._

**_Healers._**

"Alex," I whispered, throwing my hands over my mouth. Stiles grabbed my arms gently, pulling me closer to him. I shook my head frantically and felt my breathing pick up.

"Z, what's wrong? What's happening?" Stiles persisted, trying to get me to look up at him, but I couldn't. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my throat. "Zarina, hey, answer me."

"M-My brother," I stuttered out. "H-Healer."

"He's probably fi-"

"No!" I cried out, cutting Scott off. "Your mom said she hasn't seen him all night! What if he was taken? Huh? There's no way in hell I'm finding another dead body in my house, okay? Not after my parents."

I pulled out of Stiles' grip and sprinted into the hospital.

"Have you seen Alex Carlisle?" I grabbed multiple nurses' arms, but they all shook their heads. I pushed past people, faces and colors blurring as I tried to find him. I ran through hallways and empty rooms, but my brother wasn't anywhere to be seen. I stopped in the middle of a hallway and backed up against the wall, sliding to the floor.

I gripped my knees to my body and shook back and forth. No. He couldn't have been sacrificed. Not now. Not when I as too vulnerable to save him. I felt myself tearing at the seams slowly. One snip at a time. But then, I heard it.

"Zarina?" I looked up slowly and to my right. "What are you doing here?"

With reckless abandon, I vaulted off the ground and flew into his arms, squeezing the life out of him.

"Alex," I breathed out. "Oh my god. I was so scared."

"Whoa," he held me out at arm's length. "What's with you?"

I couldn't even bother to answer as I soaked in the image of my brother. Alive and not hurt. I felt the cocoon break away and my breathing came easier to me.

"You going to answer me, or?" he raised an eyebrow.

I simply shook my head. "It's nothing. I-I just…I love you."

He gave me a confused look, but nodded. "I love you too, sis. Now get home. You have school."

I smiled and gave him one last hug, convinced that he was real and not just some convoluted hallucination. I wouldn't have to find his dead body and I couldn't be more thankful for anything else.

* * *

I was at my locker when Boyd walked up to me, looking nervous. I quickly shut the metal door and turned to him, smile already on my face.

"Hey, Boyd," I greeted him. "What's up?"

"Um…you remember when you said I could talk to you about anything?" he rubbed the back of his neck.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I, uh, kind of need your opinion on something," he admitted.

"Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"So, Derek's alive," he began and I gasped. He was? "And I want to protect him from the Alphas while he's recovering."

"That's so great," I breathed out. "Why do you need my help with that?"

"My plan kind of has a big hole in it," Boyd informed me. "I originally thought that I could set up an trap by filling his loft with water, then put an electric wire inside. The problem is, I don't know how to keep the current running."

"Wait, before I help you, I have to let you know that this plan is extremely dangerous and life-threatening," I confessed. "If one of you takes a step out of line, you'll die."

"It's the only plan we've got," Boyd said seriously. "Zarina, I can't let the Alphas take away the only friends I've had in a long time. Not like they took Erica."

I bit my lip, my resolve weakening. I knew how it felt to be alone. If it were Scott in Derek's place, I'd be pretty desperate to keep him safe, too.

"Alright," I sighed. "What you're going to have to do is disable the circuit interrupter in the building. The current should keep going, even if the wire's cut. The voltage would be enough to get your job done. Just, please, do not step into the water once the wire is inside. Even a finger inside would fry you to a crisp, got it?"

Boyd nodded, still determined after my warning that this could potentially be suicidal. "Thanks, Zarina. I owe you one."

"Come back alive. That's all I need," I looked him straight in the eye.

Boyd's eyes widened, surprised. I figured he wasn't used to someone only caring about his wellbeing for the sake of caring about it. Then he smiled.

"Will do." And then he ran off to the other end of the hall.

I turned and hiked my bag up further onto my shoulder as I headed for the chemistry classroom. As I reached the door, it burst open and Scott was running past me.

"Scott!" I called out after him. "What's…wrong?" My voice softened when he didn't stop running.

Stiles walked out soon after and he motioned for me to follow him. We went down the hall after Scott without hesitation.

* * *

"Alright, we're going to do everything we can. Now, the best thing for you is to go back to school," Sheriff Stilinski patted Scott on the shoulder and gave Stiles and I smiles.

I stood between the two and watched on as the deputy and sheriff talked. So not only did I have to worry about Boyd and Isaac getting themselves killed, but I also had to worry about Deaton getting sacrificed. It didn't help much that Scott was totally distressed at the moment, but I didn't blame him. I'd been the exact same way the night before when I thought Alex was taken.

Stiles impatiently tapped Scott's arm and the werewolf smiled morosely, leading us to the back room.

"We have to tell him," Scott spoke.

"You mean tell him, tell him? Or tell him something else that isn't telling him what I think you want to tell him?" Stiles questioned vaguely.

"Well that was clear," I snorted and he glared at me.

"You know what I mean," Scott told him.

"You remember how your mom reacted? She didn't look you in the eye for like, a week," he reminded him.

"And she got over it. It actually made us closer," Scott sighed out.

"Stiles," I touched his arm softly, "he's right. You can't leave him in the dark."

"I don't know. I mean, look at him," he said nervously. "Come on, he's completely overwhelmed as it is."

"He's overwhelmed because he has no clue what's happening. He's got people dying in this town, the town he's supposed to protect, and it's not his fault that he doesn't know what's happening," Scott shook his head.

"Yeah, I mean, it'd be so much easier and way safer for your dad if he knew what he was up against. He'd be more prepared for it and he'd be better equipped to protect himself," I reasoned.

"But is now really the right time?" he leaned his head against the crate and I did the same.

"What if not telling him gets someone else killed?" Scott proposed.

"What if telling him gets _him_ killed, huh?" Stiles shot back loudly. "I mean, look, I get that Deaton's been like a father to you. I get that, okay? But this is- Scott, this is my actual father." He licked his lips, "I can't…I can't lose both of my parents, alright? Not both of them."

"You're right," Scott relented, nodding.

Stiles looked out the door at his father and hesitated. "No, I'm not. I'm not right. I'll tell him," he changed his mind.

"We're not forcing you to do this," I reassured him. "Anything you decide to do, I'll be there right behind you through it all. Whether you tell him or not, I- we'll help." Scott nodded and Stiles smiled at me gratefully.

We left the room and headed towards the sheriff when we heard Ms. Morrell's voice. I stopped them with my arm.

"Please, whatever you need. However you can help find my brother." I shared a glance with the two boys. They were related? They both shrugged. Once the police left, Ms. Morrell took a few steps to stand in front of us.

"Listen closely, all of you. No sheriff, deputy, or detective is going to be able to find him," she said.

"You don't have to ask us for help," Scott said honestly.

"Actually, I'm trying to help you. Because if you're going to find my brother, then you need to use one of the two people who might actually have an ability to seek out the supernatural. Especially since your best option is having some difficulties," she looked straight at me and my eyes flittered to my feet, but I knew who the other person was.

"Lydia."

* * *

Stiles and I burst into the school, ignoring the loud ring of the fire alarm. We hurried down the hallways and looked in every room, trying to find a certain redhead.

"Where could she be?" I asked, frustrated.

"I think she's in here," Stiles grasped my hand and I ignored the jolt running up my arm as we entered the room.

Cora was standing in front of her, a tight grip on her wrist.

"I said let me go," Lydia snarled.

I let go of Stiles' hand and walked up to them, snatching Cora's wrist and shoving it off of Lydia's.

"You need to work on your listening skills," I scolded mockingly. "You and your brother are alike in that way." She sent me a dirty look, but I didn't falter, smirk present on my face as I turned to Lydia. "We need you to help us."

She looked between me and Stiles' faces and seemed to make a decision.

"Yeah, of course. Let's go. Any way to not be alone with female Hale here," she mumbled and I snickered quietly, following her out the door. On the way to the chemistry lab, Stiles and I filled her in on what was happening and how she may be able to help since I was unable to.

"It's a spirit board," Stiles cut off Cora when she opened her mouth. The two girls were seated at a table while Stiles and I stood to the side of it.

"It's worth a shot," I offered weakly, though I found the idea to be slightly ridiculous.

"Yeah, a shot in the dark," Lydia sighed, obviously skeptical.

Stiles rolled his eyes and put down the piece we'd put our hands on that'd give us the answer we needed.

"Would you just try it? Please, okay? Let's not forget who this is for, Scott's boss, the guy who's saved our collective asses on more than one occasion," he reminded her. I fixed the piece so it face the right way.

"Okay, so do we all do this?" Cora asked.

The two of us nodded. "We all need to put our fingers on it," I confirmed, demonstrating with my own, putting them on one side.

The rest of them followed in suit, Lydia more dramatically than the rest, irritated already.

"You guys ready?" They nodded.

"Where's doctor Deaton?" Stiles asked hopefully. Silence.

He glanced up at Lydia and so did I. She raised an eyebrow and asked why we were looking at her like that.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Stiles prodded.

"Oh, I don't know the answer. I thought we were asking some sort of spirit."

"Well, do you know any spirits?" Cora interrogated, exasperated.

Lydia looked at her strangely, then pointed at her, looking at me. "Is she for real?"

I let my head fall towards the table, Stiles' hand covering it before my forehead made contact, softening the blow. I stayed there for a second before lifting my head, moving Stiles' hand, and letting out a deep breath.

"Please focus," I pleaded with Lydia.

"Okay, these are Deaton's keys from the clinic," Stiles pulled the keys out of his pockets and dangled them in her face. "Close your eyes and I'm going to put them in your hands, and then we're going to try and see if you can feel out for his location."

"Psychometry?" I realized, incredulous.

"I'm not a psychic," Lydia pointed out to us.

"You're something!" he burst out. "Okay, Lydia, just put out your hand and…" He stopped as he placed the keys into her now open palm slowly. She grimaced. "What?"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him innocently. "They're cold."

I saw Stiles' eye twitch and I was pretty sure mine was doing the same. The two of us had a very low tolerance for people and this situation was not helping anything.

"Lydia, concentrate, please! We are trying to save lives here- for the love of god," he huffed. I rubbed his shoulder, trying to calm him, even though I was kind of irritated myself.

Lydia played with the keys in her hands and closed her eyes once more. We leaned in closer. "What do you see?" I inquired.

She opened them and sighed. "Nothing."

Stiles went back to searching for something else to help and he brought out a pencil and a notebook, explaining his idea.

"Automatic writing?" Lydia guessed.

He nodded and she took the pencil from him, lips pursed. Immediately, she started to draw and I looked at the paper as she did so, not seeming to be thinking about it too much.

"Lydia, what are you doing? What-What the hell is that?" Stiles was getting excited at the prospect of actual progress being made.

"A tree."

We all looked at her blankly, Stiles more annoyed than us. Cora rolled her eyes and for once, I agreed with something she did.

"A-A tree? Lydia, you're supposed to be writing words, like in a sentence. Something like a location, something that would tell us where he is!"

She flinched, "Well, maybe you should've said that."

"Isn't she supposed to be some kind of genius?" Cora piped up.

"Genius, yes. Psychic, no," Lydia confirmed, still drawing. "Honestly, I don't know why you're even bothering with me anyways. I mean, especially since it's obvious you should be talking to Danny."

"What? Why Danny?" Stiles furrowed his eyebrows.

"Because he was a target," I connected it. Someone wasn't just hurting Danny for the hell of it. They were trying to get rid of him because he'd figured something out, something big.

"Exactly," we turned to the door and saw Scott holding his shoulder by the door. "It wasn't a sacrifice."

* * *

"Okay, so what does this kid's homework have to do with finding Deaton?" Cora asked us as we crowded around the table in the vet's office, looking down at Danny's homework that Stiles and I had retrieved from the hospital earlier.

"This _kid_," I spat the word out sarcastically, "is really smart. He wrote about something suspicious, something that he shouldn't have looked into." Stiles nodded in agreement.

"It's not just homework, okay? It's a project on geometric fields," he explained. "They flow through the earth and can even be affected by lunar phases. Now, look at this," he placed another paper on the table. "This is a not from Harris."

"I strongly advise you to choose another subject. The idea here, while innovative and thoughtful, border on pseudo-science. Not suitable for class," Lydia read off the paper.

"If Harris said something like this for a student's paper, he must've known more than we thought," I explained.

"Now, check this out," Stiles took out maps of Beacon Hills. "Allison's dad wasn't the only one with a map. Danny had one, too. He marked all the telluric currents, okay? Now, the weird thing about Beacon Hills is that it actually is a beacon."

"And not just for the supernatural," I added, spreading out the maps further. "There is so much energy from the earth that's flowing around this town. Do you see that? They match." Scott looked down at the maps on top of each other, understanding what I was getting at.

"Alright, look, there are three places, right? Where they're kidnapped and then the place the body is found," Scott clarified.

Cora pointed to one, "That's right on the telluric current."

"So maybe where he's sacrificed is somewhere in between."

"Let me see that," he took the map and looked closer at it. "You said that there's six more bodies to be found. Deaton's one of them. Got to be somewhere in between, right?"

"Stop," Cora dragged his hand down to the bank vault that she was trapped in. "He's in the vault. He's in the same vault."

We all gathered up the maps and went to head to the bank, but Lydia's voice rang through.

"Guys hold on!"

"Lydia, we don't have time," Scott said hurriedly.

"It's Boyd. The plan didn't work," Cora informed us and I stopped. I looked at her, worried. "They cut the power."

"It's just like he said," Scott muttered, referring to Deucalion. "Go. I can save Deaton myself."

"What? Scott, you can't be serious," I argued.

"I'll be fine and Cora can't get there fast enough without you guys," he rationalized. "Go, we can save both of them."

Stiles and I were still wary, but we agreed, rushing into his jeep. He went as fast as possible without getting pulled over to get to Derek's loft. Once we got there, I led them into the electrical room and all the power was shut off.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Stiles looked at me expectantly.

"Pull all of them," I instructed and we did just that.

Pulling every switch and lever. Stiles went to text Isaac our plan and as soon as the lights turned on, we ran upstairs to the loft. Cora looked extremely anxious and I felt bad for her. This was her family. Her pack.

The elevator didn't seem to move fast enough, but when it finally dinged, we exited as fast as possible and entered the water filled room. Isaac was holding Ms. Blake to the side protectively and I turned slowly to see Derek knelt down by a body.

"No," I whispered, tears gathering in my eyes. "No, please, don't tell me."

I ran up to Derek and looked over him. Boyd was lifeless on the floor, blood pooling from his stomach. I fell to my knees and grabbed his arm, shaking him. Behind me, Stiles walked up to Derek and put a hand on his shoulder, forgetting his distaste for the werewolf for the moment.

"Boyd," I whimpered. "I told you to be careful, you idiot! I warned you! You promised you'd come back alive! You promised me! How are you going to owe me now, huh? Wake up!"

I shook his body as my voice raised to hysterical levels and Stiles pulled me up by the waist, away from his body. I kicked and elbowed as his grip around my torso tightened, pulling me into his chest. Cora quickly took my place beside Boyd's body, face contorted in sadness.

"Let me go, Stiles!" I fought against him. "He's not dead! He can't be! Stop, Stiles! He's not…dead." My voice broke off as a sob left my mouth and I buried my face into Stiles' shirt, tears unstoppable. He rubbed my back comfortingly, whispering soft words into my ear. But nothing could help now. Not when we'd lost one of our own.

* * *

**AN: ****_Kinda teared up. Boyd's death literally made me so pissed off I almost sued. Sigh. A lot of emotional Zarina in this one. I like writing it cause it shows that she's actually really weak, despite her strong exterior. LOVE IT._**

**_Thank you all for the support and the reviews are just day-brightening. I love you all so much. Listened to 'I Write Sins, Not Tragedies' by Panic! at the Disco while writing this, just a note. _**

**_Please continue to review/fave/follow if you enjoyed. Means more than the world to me. Each little thing is appreciated._**

**_xx._**


	21. Twenty One

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I didn't sleep that night. When the sun rose, I was still sitting in the same position, laying face up on my bed, covers strewn about around me. I raised a hand to cover my eyes from the sun's rays and shifted on the bed slightly. Boyd was gone. I couldn't even cry anymore. I'd spent literally the entire night doing so, even when Stiles insisted that I stop.

My brother was at work, and for once I was grateful for his extremely long shifts. I didn't want him to see me like that. He'd ask questions that I couldn't answer no matter how badly I wanted to. Then I'd have to pretend that I was okay and I knew that'd be unconvincing. All I could think of was Boyd' bloody body. So drained of the life he was just beginning to get back.

It could've been hours or minutes, but my door burst open and I sat up on my bed to find Stiles standing in the doorway with my favorite ice cream. He had a small smile on his face as he held up the cartons.

"Thought you might need some company," he said.

I nodded and he set the ice cream down on my bedside table before kneeling in between my legs, examining my face in concern.

"Did you sleep at all?" I shook my head. "Zarina…"

"I'm just tired of seeing people die," I confessed.

"Me too," he agreed. "But in order to stop more people from dying, we have to figure this out."

"I know," I sighed. "You're right. It's just getting really hard to deal with this on my own."

"You're not on your own. I'm here," Stiles argued.

"You've always been there," I smiled lightly.

"And that's how it's going to stay," he concluded, grinning. "Whether you want it or not."

The window behind us started to open and I shot to my feet, turning to it. Isaac emerged from the open window and I felt relief fill me; at least it wasn't a burglar. Isaac looked up at us and raised an eyebrow, staring pointedly at Stiles and I coughed.

"Uh, Stiles, you should wait downstairs," I turned to him and he was about to protest but I cut him off. "It's okay. We just need to talk. I'll be fine."

He pursed his lips and sent a glare in Isaac's direction before walking out my door and shutting it. Isaac and I sat on the edge of my bed and silence blanketed the room.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, glancing over at his face. "I mean, after Boyd…y'know."

"I should be asking you that," he let out a puff of air. "You're the one looking like you haven't slept all night."

"It was just a bad night," I told him. "But I'm assuming that's not what you're here to talk about, though."

He shook his head. "No, not really. I just thought we should talk about us."

"What about us?" I brushed hair behind my ear, already anticipating his next words.

"We should probably go back to being just friends."

There it was. I'd been waiting for those words to leave his mouth since we started going downhill. Somehow, it stung more than I thought it would. I couldn't cry, but I felt a strange sense of anger flow through me.

"It's funny, I thought you'd actually fight for me," I laughed humorlessly. "Still, I knew this was going to happen, so I don't even know why I feel so bad. Like someone punched a hole through my heart."

"It's okay to feel heartbroken," he muttered. "You act like this is easy for me to do."

"That's probably because it is, Isaac," I shot back. "You said that like it was asking me what I wanted for Christmas."

"Well how do you want me to say it?" he retorted. "Sorry, but I don't love you the same way, so we should probably just stop being together? Is that what you want me to say?"

"If that's what you feel, then yes!" I burst out. "You know what, you're right. We should be friends. Because at this point, if you still can't even tell me what you really feel, then this relationship had no depth at all."

"You know I'll always love you," he said, calmer.

"Just not enough to stay," I replied. "I get it, Isaac. I shouldn't have gotten mad, I'm sorry."

"So am I," he agreed slowly. "What happened to us?"

"I wish I knew," I looked down at my hands sadly.

Isaac lifted my face and placed one last chaste kiss on my lips. We pulled away slowly and I looked up at him. He had tears shining in his eyes.

"So this is it," I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Yeah, it is," Isaac said softly. "I really do love you, you know."

He kissed my forehead and went towards the still open window, looking back at me sadly before jumping out of it. I emotionlessly went to my door and opened it. Stiles stumbled into my room, having had his ear on the door the whole time.

"I was not listening," he started nervously, but then noticed my tear-filled eyes. "Aw, ZZ." I looked up at him and my lip quivered.

"I think I could use that ice cream now," I suggested weakly. "And a lot of chick flicks."

Stiles chuckled lightly and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Anything for you."

* * *

Stiles and I were driving to the school a few nights later. Lydia had texted me saying to meet her at the school and that she may have found a dead body. At first I was reluctant to find another person dead. I didn't know if I could do it, but I swallowed my fear and immediately called Stiles with the new information.

We parked next to Scott's bike and hurried to where we saw Lydia standing with Allison. She looked shaken up.

"Lydia?" I started cautiously.

"It's the same thing. The same thing as the pool. I got into the car heading somewhere completely different, and ended up here," she motioned to the school. "And you told me to call you if there was a dead body." She looked at Stiles.

"You found a dead body?" he questioned.

"Not yet."

"Not yet? What do you mean 'not yet'? Lydia, you're supposed to call us _after_ you find the dead body," Stiles reminded her.

"Oh no, I'm not doing that again," she shook her head, reluctant.

"How are we supposed to find the body?" I pitched in. "I'm completely out of commission and you're the only one who's capable of doing this right now."

"Guys, I found the dead body," Scott spoke up and we looked over to where he was staring.

A deputy was dead and hanging on the 'Beacon Hills High School' sign. Another person I had to find dead. Another person we couldn't save. It made me sick.

* * *

"Idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes. All tools the writers use to tell their story," Ms. Blake lectured, walking down the aisles between the seats. She walked up behind Lydia, who was absently drawing on her paper. "Lydia, I wasn't aware you had so many hidden talents."

"You and ever guy I've ever dated," she snorted. I forced down the smile on my face as the teacher shrugged.

"Um, well, that was an idiom, by the way," Ms. Blake pointed out and Lydia didn't look very impressed. She continued to walk around the class and I saw her give Scott and Stiles a meaningful look.

"Idioms are something of a secret to the people who knew the language or the culture. There are phrases that only make sense if you know key words. Saying 'jump the gun' is meaningful only if you know about a starting gun in a race, or a phrase like 'seeing the whole board'," she explained.

Ms. Blake looked over at me and as she did so, I felt a kind of darkness gather behind my eyes, where I usually felt the burning when I used my powers. It was like the darkness was blocking things out. She looked away and the feeling disappeared, though I was more aware of the thin veil of darkness that lingered in that area.

"Like chess," Stiles murmured and she brightened.

"That's right Stiles. Do you play?"

"Oh, no, but my father does," he shook his head. I knew he wouldn't be able to sit through that game with his ADHD. Hell, I was perfectly fine and I couldn't even sit through an entire chess game.

"Now when does an idiom become a cliché?" Ms. Blake continued, but Scott caught Stiles and I's attentions.

"I think I can get to Ethan. I'm pretty sure I can make him talk."

"Maybe we should just hurt them. Slowly," I suggested, still furious that they'd killed Boyd.

"We're not killing anybody," Scott hissed. "We don't want anymore blood to be shed."

"What do you even want to talk to him about?" Stiles questioned.

"The druids are emissaries, right? So what if the Darach was an emissary to the Alphas?"

"Okay, first of all, I can' believe that we've gotten to a point where a sentence like 'what if the Darach was an emissary to the alphas?' actually makes sense to me," Stiles said sarcastically. "Second of all, we're going to have a huge problem getting to Ethan."

"What's that?" Scott raised a brow.

"Getting through Aiden," I answered for him. "Since they've been back to school, they're attached at the hip. Danny can't even get to him. I don't think it's possible to separate them, unless…"

I trailed off and looked back at Lydia slowly. Scott and Stiles understood and followed my lead. When she noticed us, she sighed in irritation.

"What now?"

* * *

"Why are you even talking to me?" Ethan groaned. Scott was directly in front of him while Stiles and I hung back. "I helped kill your friend, how do you know I'm not going to help kill the other two?"

Stiles scoffed as he turned to us. "Is he looking at us? Are you threatening Zarina? Okay, you know what I'm going to do if you even touch her? I'm going to break off an extra large branch of mountain ash," he inched closer to the Alpha, "wrap it in wolfsbane, roll it in mistletoe, and shove it up your freaking a-"

"Stiles!" I put my hand on his chest and pushed him backwards. "We get it. Point made."

"We're talking to you because I don't think you wanted to kill Boyd," Scott reasoned. "And I think that if something like that happened now, you wouldn't do it again."

Fear seemed to flash in his eyes and I knew Scott had hit a weak spot. "You don't know what we owe them, especially Deucalion. We weren't like Kali and Ennis when we met him. We weren't Alphas."

"What were you?"

"Omegas," he admitted after a second of hesitation. "In actual wolf packs, omegas are the scapegoats, the last to eat, the one who has to take abuse from the rest of the pack."

"So you and your brother were like the bitches of the pack," Stiles offered.

His jaw ticked. "Something like that."

I pushed Stiles farther away from him. "What happened?"

"They were killers," his voice shook. "I mean, people talk about us like monsters. Well, they were the ones who gave us the reputation and our Alpha- he was the worst of them."

"Why didn't you just fight back?" I asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, like form Voltron Wolf, you know? Kick everyone's asses," Stiles added. Our eyes rolled simultaneously.

"We couldn't! We didn't know how to control it back then," he shot back.

"And Deucalion taught you," Scott deducted.

"And then we fought. We took down the whole pack, one by one, and by the time we got to the Alpha, he was begging for his life," he explained, taking a deep breath. "And we tore him apart. Literally."

"What about your emissary?" Scott asked and the Alpha looked down. "They're all dead? Kali and Ennis' too?"

"Everyone's except Deucalion's."

"You mean Morrell," Stiles corrected.

"But why would he need her if he's as powerful as he says he is?" I was thoroughly confused. None of it was adding up.

Then, Ethan held his stomach in pain, crying out.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Scott asked in concern. Of course, he even cares about the enemy.

"Not me, my brother," he clarified. Someone must've found Lydia and Aiden. No matter who it was, they were in danger, Lydia especially.

We tore through the hall and I slammed open the door to the locker room to find Aiden raising a weight above his head, about to slam it down on Cora's head. Ethan rushed past me and pulled his brother away from her, making him drop the weight in the process.

"The Hale came at me!" Aiden snarled. "She deserves this!"

"It doesn't matter!" Ethan retorted. I followed Stiles to Cora and began inspecting her wounds. "Kali gave Derek until the next full moon. You can't touch him or her!"

I looked over at Lydia, who had a completely terrified expression on her face as she stared at the twins. Ethan gave us a nod and dragged his brother out of the locker room.

"I think she's seriously hurt," I told them and Lydia helped me sit her up on the ground. Cora waited a few minutes before she walked over to the sinks to clean up her blood. Then my phone buzzed with a text from Allison.

_Found something. Think you might need to see this. My house._

"I have to go, but call me if you need something okay?" I looked at Stiles and he nodded reluctantly. I smiled at him and ran out of the school, thankful that I'd taken the car, and started to drive towards the Argent's apartment.

* * *

I stared in awe at the map laid out in front of me on the desk. "Your dad did this?" I ran a hand across the paper, examining every little detail.

Allison nodded and pointed to the circle that had 'Guardians' written inside of it in bold letters.

"Guardians, they're the ones being taken next. Who knows who could be next?"

"The sheriff," Isaac muttered behind us and I whirled around to face him.

"I have to call Stiles," I immediately dialed his number and put the phone to my ear. "They killed a deputy the other day. This has to be it."

"Maybe it's someone at the school," Isaac suggested. "It could be a teacher or a student, but wouldn't we notice if a dark druid was at the school?"

"We didn't know Jackson was the kanima," I argued and Stiles answered his phone.

"Hey, Z, I'm taking Cora home right now. What's up?" he greeted.

"Allison found a pattern in her dad's study," I relayed the things she'd told me when I arrived earlier. "Philosophers and Guardians are next, Stiles. This has to be connected to your dad somehow, okay? Especially since we found that deputy last night."

I paused, not really wanting to tell him the next part, but I had to. "You have to tell him. Whether it's the truth or a lie, but you have to let him know that he's in danger somehow."

I heard him sigh over the phone. "Okay, okay. I'll go now."

"I'll meet you there," I immediately replied.

"Are you sure, you sound-"

"I said I'd be there for you whenever you need me," I reminded him and he stayed silent. "See you in a few." I hung up and put my phone in my back pocket.

I turned and saw Allison looking up at a board and Isaac looking down at her in the awe-inspired way he'd taken to doing often since the night at the school. I felt too many conflicting emotions to only pick out one, so I decided to play nonchalant.

"I have to meet Stiles at his house. He's going to tell his dad about everything," I picked up my bag and started walking out the door. "I'll talk to you guys later."

* * *

When I finally pulled up to Stiles' house, I went in through the front door using the key he hid under the mat and went into his room. Cora was seated on his bed and Stiles and sheriff were seated on either side of a chessboard with post-it notes on it.

Stiles scooted over in his chair when he saw me arrive and I sat in the empty space with a grateful smile.

"Scott and Derek….are werewolves," the sheriff was saying as he rubbed his neck tiredly.

"Yes," Stiles confirmed. I guessed that they'd been doing this for a while.

"And Kate Argent was a werewolf."

"Uh, hunter," I corrected shyly.

"Yeah, purple's hunter," Stiles gestured to the purple sticky note.

"Along with Allison and her father," Cora added from the bed.

"And my friend Deaton is a…kanima," he guessed.

"No, no, no. He's a druid. We think," Stiles told him.

"Then who's the kanima?"

"Jackson."

"No, Jackson's a werewolf."

"No, Jackson was the kanima until Peter and Derek killed him and he came back to life as a werewolf. Now he's in London," Stiles explained rapidly.

"Zarina's an Oracle?" the sheriff looked at me and I waved.

"Yeah, that's me," I smiled.

"Okay, then who's the Dareach?"

"Darach," Stiles corrected.

"We, uh, we don't know yet," I answered.

"But he was killed by werewolves," the sheriff reverted back to the topic of Jackson.

"Slashed out and left for dead," Stiles agreed. His dad sat back in his chair and sighed.

"Why was Jackson the kanima?" he asked.

"Sometimes the shape you take on reflects the type of person you are," I tried to explain.

"And what shape would an increasingly confused and angrier by the second father take?" he looked over at his son, face contorted in anger.

Stiles opened and reopened his mouth for a second before responding. "That would be more of an expression. Much like the one you're wearing right now."

"Yeah," the sheriff agreed and stood up. The two of us shot out of the chair and tried to stop him.

"She's one of them," I pointed to Cora. "We're not joking, we swear!"

"Yeah! We can prove it, okay? A werewolf-"

"Stiles!" he yelled. "That's enough." He pointed a finger at his son and walked past us towards the hall.

"Dad, can you please just hold on?" Stiles pleaded. The sheriff stopped. We looked over at Cora and she got to her feet. "Alright, Dad, just watch this." He motioned over to Cora.

Then, he pushed us out of the way and we saw that Cora was passed out on the floor.

"Call an ambulance," he instructed us and I did so, watching as her face turned increasingly paler by the second.

* * *

Once we reached the hospital and admitted Cora, I went to the bathroom to rinse my face off. I was feeling increasingly stressed, especially since both parts of the Stilinski family were on edge with each other. The entire car ride to the hospital was filled with tension that I couldn't break.

I looked up at the mirror, water dripping down my face when I saw a black figure blur behind me. I whirled around and looked side to side. Nothing.

Then I heard a cackle and my heart stopped in my chest. Slowly, a chanting that I was familiar with started to play in the background and my eyes widened as I looked around more frantically.

"Who's there?" I called out, voice echoing against the walls of the bathroom. "What do you want?"

"You," I heard someone say. The last thing I remember was Ms. Blake coming towards me with a blunt object before my world went dark.

* * *

When I came to, I saw that I was in a classroom. My hands were tied behind my back and my legs were tied to the chair's legs. I glanced to my side and saw Lydia tied up similarly to me. I struggled against my bonds and glared up at my English teacher, who made a disproving noise.

"Struggling only makes it more difficult, sweetheart," she cooed.

"You did this," I accused. "All of this. The sacrifices, taking my powers away."

"Oh, I didn't take them away," she replied. "I merely…restricted them. I couldn't have you ruining everything before it even happened, now could I?"

"You're insane," I growled. "What are you going to do to me?"

"It seems that restricting your powers isn't going to do much anymore. You and this one," she nodded over to Lydia, "know too much. Killing you both off would be knocking out two birds with one stone. No more Oracle to get in my way and no idiot girl to tell everyone my little secret."

"Let us out," I growled.

"Or what? You'll burn me to death?" she mocked. "Even if you could, you wouldn't. You're too innocent."

"Don't push me," I shot back. "I'd kill you if it meant ending all of this shit."

Beside me, Lydia returned to consciousness and looked around in fear.

"Lydia, calm down, it's just the classroom," I tried to mollify her. Ms. Blake simply laughed and walked behind me, pulling a cord around my neck.

"Let's get rid of you first, shall we?" she muttered into my ear, pulling the cord tighter. I choked and started coughing harshly.

"Leave her alone," Lydia whispered.

"You don't realize this, but it has to be done, Lydia. I'm sorry," Ms. Blake apologized, though it definitely wasn't sincere.

The cord was starting to close off my throat and I could feel myself gasping for breath, but I knew it wasn't coming into my system. Black dots filled my vision as I struggled.

Then, Lydia let out the most high-pitched scream I'd ever heard in my life. It pierced my eardrums and if I weren't a minute away from death, I would've flinched.

"Unbelievable," Ms. Blake said from behind me. "You have no idea what you are, do you?" Lydia glanced up at her, then back at my blue face. "The Wailing Woman. A Banshee right before my eyes. Just like me, Lydia. Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it."

Lydia was crying at this point and it was getting increasingly difficult to even look at her, or anything for that matter. The dots grew and I knew for sure that I was going to die.

"Drop it!" I heard the sheriff, aka my savior, command her. She launched her knife at the sheriff, sending it straight into his chest and he fell to his knees.

Scott then came in and attacked her, forcing her to released her grip on the cord around my neck. It loosened and my airways opened up, letting me cough and gasp in the air I'd been so desperate to breathe. I keeled over in my chair, trying to regain my breath. My neck was stinging and I felt an oncoming bruise form.

I turned my head to the door and saw Stiles approaching the class, but Ms. Blake put a desk in front of it before he could enter. The sheriff had somehow gained enough strength to grab his gun and was now pointing it at her as she stalked towards him.

"There was a girl years ago," he stated. "We found her in the woods, her face and body were slashed apart. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe I should've started with the philosophers, with knowledge and strategy." She got shot in the leg, but it rapidly healed. "Healers." She twisted the knife and he yelled out in pain as she pushed him against the chairs. "Warriors." She crushed his badge in her hand effortlessly. "Guardians, virgins." She pressed her lips against his. I swallowed my disgust.

"No, wait," I called out hoarsely as she burst the windows open, glass exploding everywhere.

Stiles finally ran into the room after finding a way to move the desk and looked around for his father.

"Dad?" he called out and looked at me pleadingly.

I shook my head sadly. His dad had disappeared. With the Darach.

* * *

Stiles untied me while Scott untied Lydia. His eyes glistened as he did so and once I was free, I flung the cord from my neck heaving heavily. Scott announced that he was going to take Lydia back to her car and left the two of us in the classroom.

I stood shakily and Stiles immediately engulfed me in a hug, face buried into my neck.

"I thought you died," he sounded so hopeless. "When we couldn't find you in the hospital, I thought she killed you."

"I'm okay Stiles, I'm right here," I soothed and flinched lightly when his face brushed my bruise. I held him at arms length and put my hands on each side of his face, forcing him to look at me. "See? I'm not dead, alright?"

He nodded weakly. "What're we going to do? She- she has my dad, Zarina."

"We're going to find her and your dad, I promise. He's going to be fine."

"I hope you're right," he wiped at his eyes. "No, you _are_ right. We'll find him."

"Exactly," I smiled lightly and my hands fell from his face. He looked down at my neck and ran a thumb over my bruised neck.

"Does it hurt?" he asked childishly.

"A little," I chuckled. "Could've been worse."

"How are you so optimistic right now?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "Someone has to be. Or else we'll all lose hope and everything we've done so far will have been for nothing."

"But you almost died," he countered.

"If I did, at least I could say I tried to save people, even if I failed," I replied.

"Don't talk like that," he said, voice low and I was surprised at his tone of voice. "Don't talk about your life like it's just something you can afford to lose. You can't do that to me. I need you, okay? You don't seem to get it, but it's true. So don't you dare talk like that."

I gaped up at him. I didn't really know what to say to that. So I didn't say anything. I kissed the part of his neck that I could reach and leaned my forehead against his chest afterwards, feeling him shiver.

"I won't."

* * *

**AN: ****_And yeah. That happened. idek what to say other than omg stirina feels i can't. I love them together so much it's great for me to write! I added a dark!Zarina one-shot to my tumblr (cl4ustrophobe) if you wanna check that out. It's tagged under "thatl" if that helps you find it quicker lol. _**

**_Thank you all so immensely much for the support! Your reviews make me afdjg;sgj and I cannot express how much I love you all._**

**_Please continue to review/fave/follow because it's a great motivator to write. Especially since I'm going through a really bad time at the moment and my motivation to write is slowly decreasing as it gets worse. But you guys make it better, so I can't complain much._**

**_xx._**


	22. Twenty Two

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

Derek opened the door to his loft, face surprised. Scott, Stiles, and I had made a quick stop to the vet's to get something before coming here. We had run through the rain and were damp as we stood in front of him.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked us, letting us in.

"Jennifer Blake," I started, rubbing my new bruise on my neck gingerly. "She's the Darach." Derek went rigid, skeptical.

"That's impossible."

"We all saw her," Stiles argued. "She took my dad and nearly killed Zarina." His voice was hard and angry and his jaw was clenched tightly.

"I know it's hard to believe, but she really did do this," I pleaded. "She killed a teacher, nearly murdered me," I showed him my neck, "and she took Stiles' dad. We don't know where he is and we really need your help. We can prove it if you don't believe my bruise."

"No," he said and we deflated, but he wasn't finished. "She's already here. Go. Hide. I'll deal with this."

Stiles grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a pillar with him and Scott, listening intently to what was going on a few feet from us.

"Derek, where are you?" I heard Jennifer hurry into the loft as the thunder outside died down. Funny how the weather decides to suck on a particularly sucky day.

"Right here," he came out of the shadows and his face was surprisingly calm.

"Thank god," she hugged him. "Something happened at the recital at the school. I need to tell you before you hear anything, any of it from them."

"From who?"

"Scott, Stiles, Zarina," she listed off in a rush. "They're going to tell you things. Things you can't believe. You have to trust me okay?" She looked up at him desperately.

"What is it?" he questioned and fake sympathy was laced in his voice, though his face revealed none of it.

"Promise you'll listen to me."

"I promise."

She looked down before pressing her lips to his and pulled away after a moment. I could tell she knew something was wrong by the way her eyes glimmered.

"They're already here, aren't they?" the three of us emerged from our hiding spot and walked towards them. "So, they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?"

"We told him you're the one killing people," Scott retorted firmly.

"Oh, that's right," she agreed falsely. "Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hours, that way I can get back to teaching a high school English class the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."

No one was convinced. She was getting too nervous, too defensive. She was practically throwing herself under the bus.

"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked, voice cracking with emotion. I took his hand and squeezed it calmingly. He didn't deserve this.

"How should I know?"

"Oh, you definitely know and you're going to tell us," I growled, taking a menacing step forward. "Stop with all this innocent crap because no one's buying it. Where is he?"

"Derek, tell me you don't believe this," she turned to him hopefully.

"Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?" he asked again, looking back and forth between us and her.

"No."

"Ask her why she almost killed me, then. Look at my throat, Derek. I was this close to dying," I informed him.

"You?" she acted outraged. "I didn't do that! I don't know anything about any of that!"

"Then what do you know?" he demanded, turning her around.

"I know that these kids, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story," she looked back towards us warningly. "One they can't prove, by the way."

"I think we've got plenty of proof. Right, Scott?" I looked over at him with a smirk and he stepped closer to her, powder in his hand.

"What is that?"

"My boss told me that it's a poison and a cure, which means you can use it," he loosened the top, "and it can be used against you."

"Mistletoe," she realized under her breath, fuming.

The powder hit the air, falling onto her face and the change was immediate. She morphed into her real self before returning to the person we saw her as. Derek's face contorted in anger and betrayal as he grabbed her by the throat.

"Derek! Wait, wait! You need me," she begged.

"What are you?" he snarled, grip tightening.

"The only person who can save your sister. Call Peter. Call him!" Derek was reluctant, but loosened his grip to call his uncle. Then I realized that she'd poisoned Cora.

A few minutes later, Derek hung up the phone and regained his tight grip on her neck, fully ready to kill her.

"Derek! Derek, what are you doing?" Scott asked anxiously.

"Her life- it's in my hands," he simply replied, lifting her up as he choked her.

"No, Derek, Cora's in danger, you can't do this!" I tried to stop him.

"Derek, stop!" Stiles got closer to him.

"Stilinski, you'll never find him," Jennifer warned and I felt Stiles freeze beside me.

"Derek," I reiterated firmly "Let. Go." He snapped his eyes over to me and let her fall to the ground, breathless.

"That's right, you need me. All of you," she smirked up at us. The four of us looked at each other as lightening crackled outside, illuminating the loft.

* * *

"I don't know, something feels wrong about this," Stiles' hands held the wheel tightly as we followed Derek's car to the hospital to check on Cora.

"What does?" I asked from behind him.

"You know, we proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan. You guys saw it, didn't you?"

Scott and I nodded, but stayed quiet. I put my chin on Stiles' shoulder sweetly and he smiled up at me from the rearview mirror. Soon, we were at the hospital and parked next to Derek. We all got out of the car and Stiles made a beeline for his trunk.

"What's that?" Scott inquired as Stiles pulled a weapon from his jeep. He would put a weapon in his car.

"Well, you've got claws, and Zarina has knives. I've got a bat," he told us, holding up the wooden stick. I smiled and we walked into the hospital, soaking from the rain. Derek was tugging Jennifer along harshly by the arm.

"Scott, what are you doing here?" Melissa jogged up to us, looking at our little group. "The hospital's evacuating."

"We're here for Cora," Scott replied quickly.

"What? All of you?" she looked at Stiles and I, flinching when she saw my neck. "Why does Stiles have my bat?"

I looked over my shoulder at him and he smiled sheepishly.

"Mom, just trust me on this. You need to get out of here, right now," Scott instructed and she nodded, understanding.

"The building is supposed to be clear in 30 minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming. One's ten minutes out, the other's 20. Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

Scott nodded, leading us away from her. "Got it."

We reached the elevator and Derek shoved Jennifer inside as the rest of us filed into the small compartment.

"You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help," she scoffed.

She looked around the elevator at us. Scott was glowering, Stiles was holding up the bat trying to look menacing, and I smirked at her evilly, proving that I'd kill her if she gave me the chance.

The lights flickered as the elevator opened and we exited it. I thought it was a power outage, but from my long line of supernatural experiences, I knew that wasn't all. We stopped outside of Cora's hospital room and noticed a small puddle of dark blood. It lead out of the hall to another room.

I stared at it for a moment, but soon Peter was thrown out of the room and slid on the floor in front of us. He sighed as he looked up at our group. "We've got a problem. Big problem."

I looked up and saw the fully morphed Alpha twins. Derek and Scott went to fight them, shifted into wolves, and I grabbed Jennifer's arm, shaking it harshly.

"Unblock my powers," I growled.

"Why-" she started.

"Do it!" I yelled, cutting her off.

She rolled her eyes before closing them. Slowly, the darkness veiling the buzzing feeling in the back of my mind dissipated and I felt myself regain my powers, and possibly even more based on the stronger sensation behind my eyes.

"Let's go," I helped Peter up and Stiles and I led him to Cora's body.

We went to move her to safety, but Jennifer ran into the elevator and disappeared. The Alpha's dropped Scott and tried to chase after her, but she was already long gone.

"We need to get out of here," I cried out and Peter picked up Cora as we ran. Stiles grabbed my hand to make sure I kept pace with him, but suddenly we stopped behind the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, but he shushed me.

He stalked closer to the twins and smashed the bat on their head, but it broke into pieces. They growled at him and I took Stiles' hand again, pulling him away from them. Derek pushed the two of us out the door and we made it into an empty room full of equipment.

Peter found a place to lay Cora safely without too much pain and the rest of us lingered around the room, breathing heavily. I leaned my head heavily on Stiles' shoulder and he ran a thumb along my knuckles, which didn't really help the problem of my already speeding heart.

He tilted his head towards me and looked down at my face. I shifted my eyes up to him and smiled softly. I saw his eyes moved to my lips quickly before moving over to the opening door as Scott and Derek came in.

"Where's the big guy?" he asked and I lifted my head.

"He's close," Derek responded.

"What about Ms. Blake?" Stiles continued. Scott couldn't even look at him as he revealed that she'd ran away. "What do you mean? What does that mean? Like, she's gone? Scott, are you kidding?"

"Shh, quiet!" Derek snapped, looking out the door for the twins.

Stiles released my hand and walked over to Derek. "Me, quiet? Me, huh?" he spat, angry. "Are you telling me what to do now? When your psychotic, mass murdering girlfriend- the second one you've dated, by the way- has got my dad, somewhere, tied up waiting to be ritually sacrificed?"

"Stiles, they're still out there," Scott tried to soothe him.

"And they're looking for her, right? And we don't have her either. Which means my dad and Cora are both dead," he finished, exasperated.

"Stop that," I scolded gently, grasping his wrist and pulling it so that he'd face me. "We'll find him, just like I said. Just, please stay calm." He nodded slightly, jaw ticked, but looking more calm than before.

I moved over to Peter and looked down at his niece.

"Is she really dying?"

"She's definitely not getting any better," he informed me, sounding more worried than I'd ever heard him sound. He almost sounded like a real uncle.

"There has to be something we can do. We have to help her," Scott approached us.

The doors suddenly opened and Jennifer walked in. "You can't. Only I can. I can save her and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of Alphas in this hospital who want me dead," she explained and we looked to her. "So I'll help you, but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."

Derek moved to attack her, but she wisely stepped away from him. I stopped Derek before he could try again.

"She's not good dead," I admitted. "Well, not now."

"She was trying to get out."

"I was trying to keep from getting killed. You can't blame me for that," she snapped.

"If you want to show us that you're on our side, then heal her," he motioned to a very sick looking Cora.

But Jennifer shook her head indignantly. "Not until I'm safe."

"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion. Let's torture her," Peter suggested.

"I call dibs on that," I agreed with him for once, cracking my neck.

"Works for me," Derek added and glared over at her.

The teacher almost looked pained. But I knew that he had every right to be angry. This was twice now that he'd fallen in love only to be betrayed. Two times was a good breaking point.

The PA system crackled on and the room went silent.

"Um, can I have your attention?" Scott tensed at his mother's voice. "Mr. Deucalion – excuse me, just Deucalion, requests that you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes." Then, with a small crackle, the speaker shut off.

* * *

"He's not going to hurt her," Jennifer said after a few minutes of pained silence.

"Shut up," Derek raised a hand warningly.

"He won't!" she insisted and looked at Scott. "You know why. Tell them it's true."

I slowly looked to my friend, already knowing the answer as he had let me in on it when he figured it out, but I still wanted to know how he'd go about explaining this.

"What does she mean?" Derek demanded.

"You're not the only one he wants in his pack," Jennifer revealed with a huff when Scott stayed silent. "Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha pack, he wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of Alphas to his ranks."

"A true Alpha," Peter murmured.

"What's that?" Stiles piped up.

"The kind that doesn't have to steal power from another," he looked at Scott. "One that can rise by the power of his own will. Our little Scott."

"But maybe he doesn't just want Alphas," Jennifer looked at me directly. "Perhaps he wants to see what's going to happen before it happens, too."

The werewolves all looked at her in curiosity, but I felt Stiles' gaze on me. I didn't know what to think about any of this.

"It doesn't matter," Scott cut off before questions could be asked. "We still need to get Cora out of here."

"Scott, your mom!" Stiles burst out.

"My mom said that there's one more ambulance coming in 20 minutes," he reminded us. "And I don't think that we've been here that long. So if we can get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, then we can get out of here."

Peter looked up at his nephew. "The twins aren't going to let us just walk out."

"We'll distract them," I said finally after a shared glance with Scott. Stiles looked at me in concern.

"You mean fight them," Derek corrected nervously.

"Whatever we have to do," Scott confirmed.

"It's not safe. I'll help you," he told us quietly.

"Um, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you, Derek," Jennifer informed him.

"I'll do it," Peter volunteered hesitantly. "But I prefer to be out there with an advantage."

Stiles looked at him. "An advantage? You mean like, what? A weapon?"

"Something better than a baseball bat," he shrugged. "We need something in here."

I started to look around in drawers and I felt Stiles' presence next to me, opening and closing them slowly.

"Please don't do this," he begged. "I can't let you go out there if I don't know you'll come back safe."

"I have to. For Cora, Scott, you," I admitted.

He shook his head sadly. "I'm going to go insane without you, alright? If you go out there, I don't think I can just leave."

I turned to him and sighed. "We don't have a choice. Cora needs to go the hospital and we need to make sure she gets there. You know I'm right."

"I know," he bit his lip. "Just- come back soon."

"Will do," I grinned weakly and Stiles returned it before moving his attention to a pair of defibrillators.

"What about these?" he suggested.

"You know how to use those?" Derek asked from across the room.

"Well…no."

"Then put them down," Derek commanded, nodding slightly.

Scott found a big syringe and read off the name. "Epinephrine?"

"That's only going to make him stronger," Derek explained.

I suddenly got an idea and took the syringe from Scott's hands determinedly.

"I've been waiting to do this since you came back to life." I walked up to Peter as I tapped the glass and prepped the needle.

"Ha-ha," he laughed sarcastically. "Just not so close to the heart."

"No promises," I sing-songed, jabbing the needle into his chest, inches away from his vital organs. He growled in pain. "Oops." I smiled innocently and put the needle onto the table.

Peter then walked out as the drugs took effect and I looked over at my friend. "Scott?" He nodded and we moved towards the door.

"Remember what you said," Stiles reminded me and I winked at him, tipping an imaginary hat.

We walked out of the double doors and found an energetic Peter.

"Alright, boys. Let's rumble," he grinned as the epinephrine entered his system.

I smirked as I felt the reassuring burning behind my eyes and crouched down beside Scott in an attacking position, knives in hand. My eyes glowed white and I felt stronger than ever. Then, we charged.

* * *

Needless to say, the twins overpowered us. Slightly easier than we'd hoped for. Soon, Peter was thrown against the wall and couldn't even stand on his own. Scott and I rushed over and helped him stand again.

"That shot didn't last very long," he groaned. "Those twins are really starting to piss me off." We lugged him into the laundry room at the end of the hallway.

Scott looked out of the window in the door. "How the hell are we supposed to get past them?"

"Personally, I think if we keep letting them beat the living crap out of us, they'll tire and give up," Peter offered sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you volunteering for that job? Because you can have it." I noticed Scott looking over at the laundry shoot and I immediately protested. "No. No way, Scott."

"It's the only way," he replied, nodding over at the twins. He pushed Peter upwards. "You first."

I held the chute open and jumped into it, sliding into a basket of clothes. I hoisted myself out of it just in time for Peter to come tumbling down, Scott falling on top of him seconds after.

"You couldn't have waited, like, ten seconds?" Peter asked, shooting him a look and Scott's phone rang. His face twisted in concern when he read it. Peter stepped out of the cart. "They didn't get out, did they?"

Scott's somber expression was the answer. "We have to get them," I said. "But we need to make sure Cora and Stiles are okay. The Alphas could be on them by now."

Scott nodded and hopped out of the basket. "Peter can stay with them," he reasoned as he walked us out of the room towards the basement.

We walked faster and faster the closer we got to the basement, both of us on either side of Peter, keeping him upright. We saw the ambulance, but I shut my eyes as I saw a dead EMT on the ground next to it, covered in his own blood.

I used my free hand to knock on the door and I saw Stiles jump.

"Open the door," I ordered, grunting.

He leaned over and opened the doors. "Sorry."

"Just help us get him in," Scott groaned and he hurried to help us out with Peter.

"Where's Derek and Jennifer?" he asked as we got settled in the truck.

"I have to go back for them and my mom," he told him.

"Okay, two problems; Kali's got the keys to this thing and I saw the twins, like, thirty seconds ago." A loud banging came form somewhere and I looked up at Scott.

"Stay here, we'll be a second," I told Stiles and the two of us walked out of the truck and down the hall.

His mother was in the hallway, but Scott stopped me before I could go to her. I listened closely. Low growling was coming from somewhere around us and I knew the twins were close.

Then, they emerged from the corner and tried to kick Scott's head but he ducked. I threw a knife at them, successfully hitting their kneecap, sending them to the ground. Still, they got up and grabbed Scott and I, shoving us up against a wall as we struggled.

"Where is she?" the yelled. We stayed quiet. "We're not trying to hurt you!"

"Try harder!" the two of us yelled back in unison.

"Hey!" we looked to see Melissa standing nearby with a defibrillator in her hands. "I'd like to try something." She shoved it into their chest and they seized as the electricity surged through them.

We looked at her in admiration as the twins separated. "Guys, get up!" She hoisted the two of us up and we ran before the twins could come to.

Once we were a safe distance away, we slowed to a walk. "How'd you get away from Deucalion?" I looked over at the nurse.

"He just let me go as a gesture of good will. No reason," she rubbed her hands together.

"He had to have had a reason. I don't think he does anything without a reason," Scott informed her seriously, eyes darting around the hallway cautiously.

"Well, if that means I should continue to be profoundly terrified, then don't worry. I have that covered," she shivered.

A sound came from around the corner. Scott and I pushed Melissa behind us as we moved closer to the sound. The knife from before was gripped tightly in my hand, ready to strike.

We peeked around the corner and went face-to-face with a gun barrel, but thankfully it was only Chris. When he realized it was us, he put his gun down and I saw Allison and Isaac standing behind him, both looking profoundly surprised to see us.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked us curiously. Isaac's eyes flicked to my neck and I saw anger flash in his expression.

"Us?" I scoffed. "How did you guys even get in? Alphas are swarming the place." Chris looked around and ushered us all down the hallway.

"Tell me everything. What happened?" he questioned and we filled him in on everything. "So they're trapped?" Chris was referring to Derek and Jennifer, who were stuck in an elevator. We moved into another room.

"Yeah, exactly."

"There's no getting them out without turning the power back on," Isaac added from beside me. I looked up at him. "You okay?"

I averted my eyes and nodded softly. "Yeah."

Melissa moved between Scott and I worriedly. "Wait, wait, wait. If the power's back on, they're going to hear the elevator moving, right?"

"She's right. They'll be on Jennifer and Derek as soon as it stops," I agreed. "Plus, they're way too strong for us."

"You've got us now," Chris told me.

"It's too much risk. They want her dead, and if she dies, there's nothing we can do for Stiles' dad or Cora," Scott explained.

The hunter sighed. "I don't think I know what teacher this is."

Isaac perked up. "She's the one with the brown hair. She's kind of hot." We all looked up at him, shocked. "No, it's just…just an observation."

"And if we don't take this seriously, more people will die," I sneered and he looked away, embarrassed. "Just an observation."

Allison was looking in a mirror and I saw the gears turning in her head. "I've got an idea."

* * *

Somehow I ended up in Chris' car with Isaac alone, waiting for Allison to call. The silence was killing me, but I had to do this.

"Who did that to your neck?" Isaac broke the silence.

I reached up and felt the bruise gently. "Jennifer."

"Why?" I looked over at him questioningly.

"Why do you care?" He sighed and opened his mouth to respond, but his ringtone interrupted him.

_"You ready?"_ Allison asked when he answered the phone.

"Yeah," he responded.

_"Not nervous, are you?"_

"Do I look nervous?"

"_Not at all."_ Even from here, I could tell she was lying. I held back a snicker.

_"Did he look nervous?"_ I heard Chris ask.

_"Terrified_," she answered.

"Yeah, I can still hear you very, very clearly," Isaac intervened and my chuckle slipped out of my mouth.

_"Just go as soon as the twins get here okay?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, I got it."

The car went silent as the engine started and I watched the screen, waiting for the Alphas to appear. A few minutes later, I saw the twins on the phone.

"Go," I told him and hung up his phone.

Isaac put the car in drive and we sped into the garage for Stiles, Peter, and Cora. We rounded the ambulance and stopped. The doors opened and Peter came out, holding up Cora.

The two of us exited the car to help and Isaac ushered the two into the backseat and I walked over to Stiles.

"What's wrong?" I saw his left hand shaking as he read the word 'guardian' on a clipboard. In that second, I understood.

"Guys, come on!" Isaac called out, coming towards us.

Stiles looked over at him before taking off. I was about to follow when Isaac caught my wrist.

"No, I almost lost you once, I'm not going to take that chance again," he protested, trying to drag me to the car. I wrenched my wrist from his grip and glared at him.

"I'm not yours to lose!" I retorted. "Not anymore, alright? Just let me follow him."

I turned on my heel and sprinted towards the direction Stiles had gone. I caught up with him on the staircase to the roof and we burst through the doors, rain hitting our faces. Deucalion was there and Scott was walking towards him. He'd made up his mind.

"No! Scott, don't go with him!" I begged and he whirled around to us, face void of hope. Just like at the motel. "You can't just leave us. Not for him."

"I don't know what else to do," he sounded so tired of trying to figure everything out.

Stiles shook his head, "No, Scott, there's…there's got to be something else, okay? We always- we always have a plan B."

"Not this time," he said with teary eyes. I couldn't tell if the water falling down my face was the rain or my tears, but I guessed it was the latter.

"Scott," Stiles croaked.

"I'm going to find your dad. I promise." He turned and continued walking over to Deucalion, not looking back anymore.

"Scott!" I cried out, sobs erupting from my throat.

But he didn't stop. He walked away from me, Stiles, and everyone else that relied on him. As he walked away, so did hope.

* * *

**AN: ****_This is so so so so late, I apologize. FF wasn't working on my computer and then I got preoccupied with homework. It's all very stressful. I'm super excited for next chapter. I guess you can guess what I'm gonna change for the sole purpose of Stirina fluff. IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT._**

**_Thank you all so much for the support. You guys make me so happy and I'm feeling myself slowly get out of that little depression rut I've been in for a little while._**

**_Please continue to review/fave/follow. It helps a bunch and it makes me feel extra goood. Love ya'll!_**

**_xx._**


	23. Twenty Three

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.**

* * *

I stared at the spot where Scott had disappeared. This couldn't happen. He couldn't have given up so easily that his only option was to go with the enemy. It just didn't make sense. I felt Stiles grab my hand and tug me down the stairs.

"We need to go," he stated as we walked. "I know it's tough, but the police are going to show up soon."

I nodded lifelessly and soon we turned the corner to see an open elevator, Derek unconscious on the floor. We sprinted towards him and knelt next to his unmoving body.

"Derek! Derek, wake up!" Stiles slapped and punched him repeatedly, but the Alpha stayed still.

"C'mon," I urged, shaking Derek's arm. "Derek!"

Stiles clenched his hand near his face to his him again, but before it could connect, Derek's hand shot out and caught it.

"Where is she?" he sat up and looked around.

"Jennifer? She's gone with Scott's mom," Stiles informed him.

"She took her?"

Stiles and I nodded frantically. "Yeah, and if that's not enough of a kick in the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So we've got to get you out of here. The police are on their way." We hoisted him up so he could stand, but he paused.

"What about Cora?" he asked as we finished propping him on his feet.

"Isaac and Peter got her out," I said. "They shouldn't be too far, so you can go and meet them just try and stay away from here."

"Are you sure that you guys are going to be okay?" he looked at the two of us and we nodded simultaneously.

"Go," I persisted and he ran off down the hall. Sirens sounded in the distance and I sighed, sitting down on the elevator's floor. "We should just say we got stuck in here. It'll be less suspicious."

Stiles agreed silently and sat next to me. "We should talk to Chris when this is over. He might know how to find them," he suggested.

Not a few seconds later, men and women in several different uniforms entered the hospital and Stiles and I relocated to some chairs as they questioned us a thousand and one times. His knee bounced the entire time and I literally had to hold it down.

"Look," Stiles nudged me and pointed over to a man with an FBI uniform on. I groaned. "This is just great, really."

"Why is he here?" I hissed under my breath as he approached us.

"A Stilinski and Carlisle at the center of this whole mess," Mr. McCall said as he stepped in front of us. "What a shocker. Think you can answer some questions without the usual amount of sarcasm?"

"I think you're forgetting who you're talking to," I grinned with fake sympathy.

"But maybe it's possible if you can ask questions without the usual level of stupid," Stiles added sarcastically.

"Where's your dad, and why has no one been able to contact him?" he looked down at Stiles who shook his head.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in hours." Well, it was true, just not entirely.

"Is he drinking again?"

Stiles sighed in frustration. "What do you mean, again? He never had a problem."

"But he did have to slow down. Is he drinking like he used to?"

"Alright, how about this?" Stiles started angrily. "Next time I see him, I'll give him a field sobriety test. We'll do the alphabet. Start with F and end with U."

I smirked up at the agent, snorting lightly. "How about instead of asking two teenagers where he might be, you go and actually _look_ for him. Or is that not in your job description?"

Mr. McCall looked away resignedly. "How about you just tell me what happened here and you guys can leave?"

"You can ask about every agent here and you'll get the same answer, but we were stuck in an elevator the entire time. We don't know what happened," I replied, blowing out a breath.

"You two aren't the ones who put the name on the doors, are you?" he interrogated and our interest was immediately piqued.

"What name?" Stiles asked, but someone came over and started leading the agent away. "Hey! What name?"

"Argent," I replied for him, looking over at the elevator doors, which were dripping red paint.

* * *

"The word is guardian, Allison. You of all people know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately," Chris was saying as we followed him into the other room. Stiles and I had immediately gone to their apartment to let them know what'd gone on in the hospital.

Allison shook her head. "But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father. That's not a coincidence," she argued, worried for her father's safety.

"The truth is, Mr. Argent, that you're definitely next. You're still a parent and your name wasn't on the elevators just for kicks. You, if anyone, should be able to see that," I explained, sitting heavily in my chair.

Chris sighed and stood behind his desk as his daughter spoke. "I think it might be Morrell. I think she knows a lot more than she lets on and she might even be trying to help us."

"Well she needs to get on that a lot faster, seeing as the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away," Stiles informed her, sitting down next to me.

I could hear the anguish dripping off his voice and I knew he was starting to lose confidence in the whole endeavor.

"Stiles, don't give up hope," Chris told him, sensing the same things I was.

"They could already be dead," my friend shot back.

"I don't think so. There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place," the hunter explained.

"And you're one of them," Allison pitched in, looking at him.

"Then let's not wait around to see the next move," he grinned and grabbed the map he'd traced with the currents on them. "Everything she's done has been on a telluric current, so Melissa and the sheriff have to be one of those currents, right?" Stiles' face fell, obviously not wanting to be disappointed again. "Stiles, if we're going to find them, we need your help."

"You seriously want to go after her? I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh?" he inquired. "No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?"

"I'm carrying a .45," he responded, holding up the gun. "Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off." He put the gun on the table. "We've got on priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need all of you."

I turned to Stiles hopefully. He had to see by now that we couldn't just sit on the sidelines. We had to take action.

"Where do we start?" he relented.

* * *

When I got home, it was almost time to go to school and I tried to sneak past my brother's room, but failed miserably. He exited his room and stared me down, arms akimbo.

"Hi," I greeted sheepishly, smiling and hiding my bruised neck with my sweatshirt.

"Hi yourself," he growled. "Where have you been?"

"I've been helping Stiles look for his dad," I said. It wasn't a complete lie. "It took longer than we thought."

Alex's face softened and he sighed through his nose. "Okay, just…get ready for school. And don't come crying to me when you get all tired."

I laughed and kissed his cheek. "Will do. Now get some sleep, you look like the living dead."

He mumbled something unintelligible as he reentered his room to sleep. I quickly got ready for school and grabbed my things, hopping into my brother's car.

Once I got into the hallway, I saw Lydia and Stiles close by, talking. I quickly ran up to them and greeted them both.

"Hey," Stiles grinned. "So we were thinking, maybe Jennifer wasn't going to kill you and Lydia because you two are insane supernatural beings. It has to be something else."

"Like what?" I subconsciously felt my bruise with the tips of my fingers.

"I don't know yet," he admitted.

"Aiden isn't texting me back," Lydia pitched in. It would've been nice to have his help. As an Alpha, he already knew way more than us combined. "Okay, maybe we could go over there and-" Stiles phone rang and he reached into his pockets for it. "What?"

His face twisted in panic and I stepped closer to him. "Stiles, what happened?"

"It's from Isaac," he said quietly. "Jennifer she t- she has Allison's father. She took him. She's got all three now." His hand shook violently as he pushed his phone into his pocket and he started to breath harshly, eyes darting around the halls.

"Stiles?" I grabbed his arm gently as his breathing quickened. "No, not now. Come on, breathe. It's okay, just breathe."

But he didn't. He couldn't. His chest heaved up and down heavily and I helped him into the empty locker room. Stiles walked further inside, dropping his backpack on the floor and I stopped Lydia at the door.

"Stay there, he's having a panic attack," I directed hurriedly. "Make sure no one gets in." She nodded and shut the door as I rushed over to Stiles and knelt in front of him on the floor.

"You'll be fine, everything's going to be okay. Focus on something else, anything else," I instructed gently.

"Like what?" he asked through his harsh breathing.

"Good things, positive things. Uh, rainbows, puppies, Batman, friends, family?" He shot me a helpless look and I quickly fixed myself. "Oh, sorry, not that. I'm sorry. Just don't think at all, how about that?"

"Z-Zarina, I can't," his hands were seizing in his lap and his voice was uneven. I scooted closer to him and cupped his face, making him look at me.

"Look at me," I whispered. "Just me, alright? I'm the only one here. Stiles, look at me." His breaths slowed, but I felt his body shake. I glanced down at his lips and made a quick decision.

I smashed my lips onto Stiles', thumbs caressing his cheeks as I did so. I felt him stiffen in surprise before he started to kiss back, making my heart stutter in my chest. Our lips moved in perfect harmony as I felt his shaking dissipate, hands moving to the back of my neck to keep me in place.

Slowly, reluctantly, I pulled away, my hands still on his face as both our eyes fluttered open in awe. His hands moved to my wrists and his breathing was finally even.

"H-How did you do that?" he asked breathlessly, voice low.

"When you, uh, started having these, I, um, researched ways to stop them so I could help if you ever had one," I confessed, feeling his cheeks warm up under my palms. "One of the ways was to hold your breath, so when I- uh, when I kissed you….you held your breath." I smiled softly.

"I-I did?" he questioned like a small child and I nodded, laughing slightly.

"T-Thank you. That was…you're amazing." We separated and sat down on the floor. My lips were tingling and my heart was doing a happy dance in my chest.

"Not really, but I honestly think we need a few sessions with the guidance counselor," I joked. He chuckled and remembered what we had to do.

"Morrell," he pulled me up by my hand and we opened the door, startling Lydia as she followed us down the hallway to Ms. Morrell's office.

"What happened in there?" she whispered to me as we walked.

I felt my cheeks heat up and a tiny smile flit across my face. "Just helped him calm down."

* * *

"Are you here for Morrell?" Stiles asked the girl sitting in the counselor's office as we entered the room.

"No, I thought this was gym class," she deadpanned, looking up at us.

"Sweetheart, we're not in the mood for funny," Lydia retorted and the girl looked astonished. "Do you know where she is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be waiting here for 20 minutes!" she burst out, frustrated as she pointed at the door. "So how about you three go back out the door and wait your turn?"

"We're not here for a session," I told her distractedly, looking at Morrell's calendar.

"Well, I am and I've got some serious issues to work on," she scoffed.

"Oh, you don't know the first thing about serious issues," I mumbled, but Stiles caught it and tugged the hand he was holding roughly, making me yelp.

"Hey, wait, wait. You're Danielle. You're Heather's best friend," Stiles realized.

The girl looked at her lap at the mention of her dead friend. "I _was_ Heather's best friend. We've been working on that issue three times a week."

"Hold on, did you say that Ms. Morrell's twenty minutes late?" Lydia inquired.

She nodded. "I don't know why, either. She's always on time."

Lydia turned to us and nodded. "I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester. She was never late."

"Then she's not late. She's missing," Stiles deducted.

"Does that mean she knew something? Maybe someone else is looking for her, too," I suggested with a sigh.

Stiles pulled me with him to look through her file drawers. "Then I want to know what she knows," he said, shuffling through her papers. I automatically started helping him, opening another drawer and peering inside.

"What are you doing?" Danielle asked incredulously.

"Trying to find her."

"Those are private," she pointed out.

"Yeah, she's kind of right," Lydia agreed with her.

Stiles pulled out a file and handed it to her. "That one's yours."

Contrary to her words, she took the folder from his hands and looked through it. Stiles and I walked up next to her as she flicked through the papers.

"Wait, Lydia, that's your drawing," he stopped her.

"Yeah, I know. It's a tree," she shrugged nonchalantly.

Danielle hummed, impressed. "Yeah, good, too."

"Thank you," Lydia smiled at the girl.

"No, I think he means that this is the tree that you always draw," I clarified. "You're constantly drawing these in class."

"It's a tree. I like drawing trees," she defended.

Stiles took the folder from her and pulled out her notebook of drawings, opening the page that had it tree drawn on it.

"No, but it's the exact same. Don't you see?" he held the two pictures up next to each other. "There, you see?" Lydia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Okay, you can have my session. You've got bigger issues," Danielle conceded, grabbing her bag and leaving us alone.

"What is this?" Lydia stared horrified at her drawings and Stiles continued to go through the notebook.

"Wait," I stopped his hand on a certain page and flipped the book upside down. "The nemeton. Like Peter was telling you and Cora! That's where they are." I closed my eyes for a second and the image of the nemeton flashed behind my eyelids, verifying my suspicions.

Stiles looked down at the page and smiled. "You're a genius. Seriously, oh my god."

We left the office together and Lydia sent me a knowing grin. I simply shrugged, innocent.

"Stilinski! Carlisle!" I heard Scott's dad call out. I facepalmed.

"Go to Derek, alright?" he instructed Lydia. "He and Peter have been there so they know where it is. Tell them it's the root cellar." She nodded and sent me a look before hurrying away from us.

"Did you know your dad's car is in the school parking lot and has been since last night?" McCall interrogated Stiles as he reached us.

"Uh, no. What does that mean?" Stiles slid his hands up his backpack straps.

"It means he's officially missing."

* * *

"Why am I getting the feeling that you two know something that could help us find the sheriff?" McCall accused, standing in front of us.

"If we did, why would we _not_ tell you?" Stiles shot back.

"If it'd mean helping your dad, why wouldn't you?"

"Wait, so you're asking us to tell you what we wouldn't not tell you?" I pursed my lips in confusion.

"First, I have no idea what you just said. Second, how about you just help me help you?"

"Well, I don't know how to help you help my tell you something that would help you if I don't know it," Stiles replied, sitting up straighter.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" the agent's face was blank.

"We don't know anything, okay? So can we just go?" Stiles gestured to the door.

"Where are your other friends?" he cut him off.

"You mean Scott?" Stiles prodded.

"Yeah, you should know we're definitely not going to tell you that," I narrowed my eyes. The agent rolled his eyes as he pulled out a notepad.

"I mean, Scott, Isaac Lahey, Allison Argent, and those twins: Ethan and Aiden," he read off the paper. "I've been told your whole little clique didn't show up at school."

"We don't have a clique," Stiles disagreed.

"And seriously, Ethan and Aiden? Our friends? Uh, yeah you need to find better intel," I scoffed.

"There's been a pretty disturbing amount of violent activity in this county in the last few months. Several murders tied to this school. I don't know what's going on here, but it's serious. And you-hey," his sharp tone made our heads snap up to him. Tears were welling in Stiles' eyes. "Your _dad_ is missing."

The two of us said nothing. There was nothing we could tell him, both because we couldn't and we didn't really understand it ourselves.

"Fine," he relented after a moment. "But I don't want you to be home alone, Stiles. Do you have someone you can stay with tonight?"

"He's with me." My eyes moved upwards and I saw Deaton in the doorway. This could either be very good or very bad.

* * *

Allison, Isaac, Lydia, Stiles, and I stood around a metal table in the vet's office in deep discussion.

"It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even on the axis of two or where they all intersect. I just don't know what Derek took Paige to die," Stiles explained to Deaton.

"My dad and Gerard went there once, but Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where," Allison informed us. "And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."

"Yeah, mine either," Stiles agreed sadly.

I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to me comfortingly, my head leaning against him. From my peripherals, I saw Isaac stiffen uncomfortably, but I paid it no mind. He had no right to be jealous. Not after everything that'd happened.

"Then how do we find this place?" Isaac asked, voice hard.

"There might be a way, but it's dangerous," the vet looked at us cautiously. "We're going to need Scott."

Stiles went rigid, but I nodded in understanding.

"Then let's get him," I decided, pulling a shocked Stiles to the front door, where Deaton was waiting. "Lydia, if you get any weird feelings, or draw any more trees, let us know." I pulled out my phone and dialed my other best friend.

We met Scott in the woods and he nodded as he met us in front of Stiles' jeep.

"How'd you guys find out?" he questioned.

"Lydia. You?" Stiles answered.

"Morrell. None of the other Alphas knows where it is, either."

"Scott, are you going to tell them what we find out? If this works," I bit my lip.

"I can't face Jennifer without them," he met my eye guiltily.

"How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?" Deaton suggested.

"What's the plan?"

"Essentially, Scott, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents," he explained.

"They're going to die?" I burst out worriedly.

"But he can bring us back," Stiles assured me quickly, but then faltered. "You can- you can bring us back, right?"

"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" Deaton reminded him. "If it goes right, the three of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about."

"This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet," he continued. "It attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill pages of a bestiary with. It'll draw them here, like a beacon."

"Doesn't sound any worse than what we've already seen," Stiles replied.

"Um, despite our past experiences, I'm almost positive that we haven't even seen half of what there actually is," I confessed and Deaton nodded.

"Is that it?" Scott inquired.

Deaton looked upset. "No. It'll also have an effect on the three of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it everyday for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of darkness around your heart and permanent, like a scar."

"Like a tattoo," Scott flashed back to our last day of summer and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

The determination in his voice was enough confirmation for me. He was going to do this. They all were.

* * *

While the three surrogates went to get personal items from their parents, Lydia, Isaac, and I helped set up the ice baths they'd get into. I was pouring in the last bag when they walked in.

"Alright," Deaton rubbed his hands together. "What did you bring?"

Stiles showed us a police badge. "Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out. Still doesn't look great."

"Well, it doesn't need to look good if it has meaning," Deaton told him.

Isaac gazed at the item in Allison's hand. "Is that an actual silver bullet?"

"My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code," she smiled weakly.

"Scott?" Deaton turned to him.

He sighed and held up a watch. "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say that it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked," he recalled.

The three of us shared a sad look before returning our attention to Deaton.

"Okay, the three of you will get in," he gestured to the bathtubs. "Three of us will hold you down until you're essentially, well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back. Someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether."

I looked back and forth between my best friends. If I could've helped them both, I would've. It was too difficult to decide on one.

"Zarina, you go with Stiles," Deaton eased my conflict and I nodded, grabbing Stiles' outstretched hand and standing next to him.

Lydia took a step towards Allison, but a look from the emissary stopped her.

"Are you sure? I mean, Scott and I both have to go under," Allison sounded confused.

Then, the his eyes moved to Isaac and I forced myself to ignore it. It shouldn't have mattered to me. Not when he was clearly what she needed. I instead focused on the warmth of Stiles' hand in mine, sending shockwaves up my arm. It eased my mind in a second.

I let myself glance over at Scott, who looked betrayed. I understood how he felt. His ex and one of his friends were extremely close. It hurt that their connection was enough to pull her back. It really did.

"It's okay," Scott said lamely, moving past them.

I wanted desperately to scream that it was definitely not okay and that he should be fighting for her, but I resisted, not wanting to cause a scene.

The three stripped down to a few articles of clothing and I stood behind Stiles as he looked down at the tub. As he lifted his foot to get in, I stopped him by wrapping my arms around his waist, pressing his back to my chest. Stiles rubbed my arm reassuringly.

"Please come back," I whimpered. "I'll be right here waiting."

"Always, Batgirl," he responded, turning his body so he could kiss my forehead before slowly getting in, Allison and Scott following his lead. His hands gripped the side of the tub until his knuckles were white as he lowered his body into the ice.

Once they settled into the water, they were shivering erratically. I bit my lip so hard, I thought I drew blood. I ran a hand through Stiles' hair gently, trying to calm myself down. He'd be okay. I repeated those three words like a mantra in my head.

"B-By the way, uh, if I don't m-make it back and you do," Stiles started, teeth chattering against each other as he looked at our best friend. "Y-you should probably know something. Y-Your dad's back in town." Scott stayed silent, but his eyes were wide with shock.

Isaac, Deaton, and I placed our hands on their shoulders. My hands wouldn't stay in place as they convulsed harshly. Stiles motioned for me to bend over, so I did, placing my ear next to his mouth.

"J-Just wanted you t-to know that I-I love you," he whispered and a lump grew in my throat. My hands tightened on his shoulders as my heart constricted. "A-Always have."

I stood back up when Deaton nodded at me, signaling that we had to push them under. My breathing was ragged as I placed a tiny kiss on Stiles' head and pushed the rest of his body underwater.

The air went still as I felt Stiles struggle slightly under my hold and it felt like eternity as I tried not to let him come back up. A few long moments later, Stiles' struggling weakened. And then, stopped completely.

* * *

**AN: ****_YAS. OMG. One or two more chapters until Season 3A is over. Was thinking of starting an entirely new story for 3B because idk that's what people are doing. It'll be kinda like a sequel. Thoughts on that? Would you rather I continued this story or made 3B into its own separate one?_**

_**Thank you all for the support and love! It's crazy how fast this passed, tbh. It feels like yesterday I was stressing out about this story cause I thought people wouldn't read it, but look at it now! I'm so proud and thankful to have so many great people out there. Love you all.**_

_**Please review/follow/fave if you liked itttt. (:**_

_**xx.**_


	24. Twenty Four

**Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina. Now let's finish this (:**

* * *

_**I love you.**_

His words echoed in my mind for the entirety of the 16 hours they spent underneath the icy surface of the water. I couldn't stop trembling, either. How could I? I'd killed him. Stiles. My Stiles. I killed him. I felt him stop moving underneath my hands. It was necessary, I knew that, but that didn't make the fact that I'd actually killed him any less mortifying for me.

Lydia and Deaton were in the front room and Isaac and I were keeping an eye on their tubs. We stayed silent and avoided looking at each other.

There was too much going on for me to even be mad at Isaac for somehow forming this bond with Allison. Not that it was his fault, but it hurt that he'd gotten closer to her in almost two weeks than he'd ever been with me in five months.

Suddenly, Stiles, Scott, and Allison sat up, water splashing as they gasped for air. Deaton and Lydia ran back into the room.

"I saw it. I know where it is," Scott informed us, shivering.

I handed them all towels before distancing myself from Stiles, even though I was so extremely glad to see him again. I couldn't shake the guilt filling my gut.

"We passed it. There was this stump, a huge tree, well not huge anymore. They cut it down," Stiles added, wrapping the towel around his body. "But it's still big, very big."

"It was the night we were looking for the body," Scott looked at us and we nodded, me more hesitantly than Stiles.

"Yeah, the same night you were bitten by Peter," he realized.

"I was there, too. In the car with my mother. We almost hit someone," Allison pitched in, still catching her breath.

"It was me! You almost hit me," Scott's eyes went wide in surprise. "We can find it." He turned to us and finally noticed that were all shock still and silent.

"What?" Stiles asked, looking at me.

"You guys were out a long time," Isaac revealed quietly.

Stiles looked out the window and squinted as the sun hit his eyes. "How long is a long time?"

"16 hours," Deaton replied.

The three surrogates looked at each other, faces shocked.

"We've been in the water for 16 hours?" Scott exclaimed.

The vet nodded. "And the full moon rises in less than four."

Scott mulled over this in his head before sitting down on the edge of his tub.

"Okay, then we need to find Jennifer and the only way I can do that is with Deucalion. I have to talk to him," Scott decided.

"No, dude, you are not going back with them," Stiles argued.

"He's right. Deucalion's literally bloodthirsty. He could kill you," I spoke, voice crackly.

"I made a deal with him," he persisted.

Stiles looked at our group and scoffed. "Does anyone else think that this sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"

"Why does it matter, anyways?" Isaac inquired from his seat next to Allison on the metal table.

"Because I still don't think we can beat Jennifer without their help," Scott admitted.

"Deaton, please tell your protégé that he's just going to get himself killed," I pleaded the emissary.

"I don't think that's the case," Deaton disagreed. I groaned inwardly and pushed hair behind my ear. "Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're going to trust him?" Isaac interjected, skeptical. "The guy that calls himself death, destroyer of worlds. We're going to trust that guy."

Deaton shook his head. "I wouldn't trust him, no. But you could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be used as bait."

We fell into a brooding silence, thinking over his plan as the door to the office opened. Deaton stepped out with Lydia and I followed them, curious.

"I'm looking for Lydia," Ethan, I assumed, said.

"What do you want?" Lydia asked anxiously.

"I need your help."

Stiles and Scott came up to us, not trusting the wolf. "With what?"

"Stopping my brother and Kali from killing Derek."

* * *

Allison unlocked the door to her apartment as Scott talked to Stiles through his phone. We had decided to split up to find things that would have a scent that'd help us find the three parents.

"No, Stiles, I'm not smelling your dad's boxers," Scott made a disgusted face and I bit my lip to hide my smile.

I felt bad for not going with Stiles, but I was still having trouble not bursting out in a mixture of tears and apologies around him.

Allison pushed open the door and we entered, Isaac moving to Chris' bedroom while Allison and I treaded down the hall. She stopped suddenly and I looked over her shoulder.

"Quite the arsenal your father's got here, Allison," Agent McCall mused, an array of weapons strewn on the desk in front of him. "Scott." He stood up and I peered behind me to see Scott standing nearby, jaw ticked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly.

"Following one of the only leads I have," the agent replied. "Now, since I don't know where you've been, why don't you have a seat? We can talk." He gestured to some chairs. "You too, Isaac." He addressed the beta standing next to Scott.

"How do you know my name?" Isaac questioned, taken aback.

"Your name's one of the few things I _do_ know," Scott's father hummed. "To be honest, the rest of what's going on around here has me stumbling in the dark even over the smallest clue."

"If you're trying to tell me that you don't have a clue, I've learned that a long time ago," Scott retorted, the two of us crossing our arms.

"I'm really hoping to avoid the embarrassment of dragging my own son into an interrogation room," Mr. McCall sighed out.

* * *

"I'm not going to lie, I'm a little more than disturbed, not only by the number of missing parents, but by the fact that it's Stiles' father-" he paused as he paced behind Argent's desk.

I stood between Isaac and Scott, glaring at the agent with my eyebrow raised. Isaac took out a pack of mints and popped open the top, taking one out before putting the container back in his pocket.

"And your mother," McCall finished, pointing at his son.

"Ours are both dead," Isaac gestured between the two of us, popping the mint in his mouth.

"Save the cliché teenager apathy for your high school teachers. The four of you know more than you're saying and I'm fully prepared to keep you here all night if I have to," he threatened.

"You can't keep us here without a warrant," I shot back and he looked at me, appalled.

"I've got a desk full of probable causes," he replied once he recovered, looking down at the desk.

"My father is a highly respected security consultant and federally licensed fire arms dealer, that means he _has_ to own a few weapons," Allison explained as she stood. "Like this. Hundred and seventy-five pound draw tactical crossbow." She pointed to it. "Or this carbon steel Marine compound knife. Fifty-eight E Desert Eagle. Smoke grenade with a pull ring igniter."

Smoke filled the room as she pulled the ring off, throwing the grenade on the ground.

"Let's go!" Allison yelled and we all evacuated, sprinting down the stairs.

* * *

I swung my leg off of Scott's motorcycle, tossing him his helmet. Allison got out of her car, Isaac close behind as they walked over to us. Allison and Scott automatically sprung into a conversation, but I closed my eyes tightly as an image flashed.

A tree at the edge of the forest flashed and I attuned my ears to the vision. I heard screeching tires and a familiar scream, though the picture behind my eyelids didn't change. I knew who it was. Stiles. Before I could reopen my eyes, there was the sound of a car making contact with the tree and of a head hitting the steering wheel.

I gasped and started swiveling my head around frantically, looking around the field we were standing in. My three friends approached me cautiously.

"Zarina, what's wrong?" Scott asked gently.

"S-Stiles," I croaked. "He's hurt. I have to go."

Without another word, I sprinted off into the forest, focusing on the tree. It could've been hours or minutes that I ran, but I could tell I was getting closer because the vision of the tree was starting to have the outlines of a crushed car beside it. More specifically, Stiles' jeep.

Finally, the headlights of the jeep blinded me and I sprinted towards the car, ripping open the passenger sides' door. Stiles was slumped against his door as his temple bled and he looked like he was lifeless.

"Stiles! Wake up," I gripped his flannel and shook him desperately. "Come one, please don't do this. I just got you back!" I looked at my hand and sighed as it made contact with his cheek.

He shot awake and looked around wildly. "Zarina? What the hell!"

"You wouldn't wake up!" I defended. "I had a vision that you got into a crash here, so I came as soon as possible. We have to go, though. Time's running out!" My voice raised to a yell as the wind picked up, shaking the jeep.

Stiles nodded, determined, as he grabbed his bat from the trunk and exiting the car with me. I struggled as the wind blew my hair around viciously and I kept my hand tightly wound in Stiles' free one, feeling like I was going to get whooshed away.

"Where is it?" I called out, getting frustrated. "I thought this was the place!"

"It's a little further down!" Stiles guessed. "Just a little farther."

He retightened his hand around mine and pulled me through the trees. Finally, the nemeton came into view, but a hole was surrounding it. There were bright rays of light shining around us, signaling the beginning of the lunar eclipse.

"It's collapsing!" I shouted as we jumped inside together. Inside, Allison, the sheriff, Melissa, and Isaac were holding up the falling beams.

"Stiles!" the sheriff gasped out tiredly and I felt him slump in relief.

Sweat dripped from Isaac's face and I knew that he wouldn't be able to this for much longer. As the beams started to cave, Stiles hurried to place his bat under one of them so that it would stay in place. Isaac let go of the beam he was holding, happy to be released from the weight.

"I always said aluminum was better than wood," the sheriff said proudly.

I sighed in relief as the two Stilinski boys grasped each other in a tight hug. My relief was short lived as I felt dirt fall onto me from all sides, proof that the beams wouldn't hold for much longer.

However, after five or so more minutes, the wind outside faltered before slowly stopping entirely. I looked up at Stiles who smiled down at me, bringing the back of my hand to his lips.

"Is it over?" Allison asked softly.

My face broke out into a big smile as I jumped into Stiles' arms, laughing in relief. I listened to his heart beating under my ear for a moment before letting him go over to his dad. The two embraced and I felt my heart swell in happiness.

Stiles' phone rang and he pressed it to his ear. "Scott?"

"Yeah, we're okay…we're all okay," he looked up at us and I winked at him.

"How about you? You okay?" he continued. "You think you can come get us?" He paused.

"Great, okay. Um, bring a ladder." Chuckles erupted from the rest of us.

* * *

When I got home, Alex was sitting on the couch, bags under his eyes from waiting up for me for nearly two nights.

"Alex, oh my god," I gasped and he stood, eyes filled with rage.

"Where the hell have you been going?" he yelled. "That's three times this month that you've been gone without tell me where you've been! Do you know how worried I am?"

"I know! I'm sorry, I'm so, _so_ sorry, okay?" I apologized desperately. "I'll explain everything if you want me to, really, I will!"

"What is there to explain? Is there some kind of secret society you're a part of that requires you to leave me here alone, thinking you're dead?" Alex shot back.

I flinched, but shook my head. "It's so much more complicated than that, Alex. Please listen. Even if you don't believe me."

I had to tell him. There wasn't anything I could do anymore. I couldn't lie to him when he was so terrified for me. It made me feel like a horrible sister.

Alex nodded reluctantly. "Fine. Explain."

So I did. I explained from the time Scott was bitten all the way to then. I didn't leave anything out, including how I was an Oracle. He was silent the entire time and I saw the doubt in his eyes. It was still there by the time my tale was done. He didn't believe me.

"Do you honestly think I'm dumb enough to believe that stupid excuse?" he snarled. "Werewolves? Sacrifices? Zarina, why are you still lying to me?"

"I'm not!" I shouted. "I can prove it to you, too! Watch."

I willed my eyes to shift and they did. My brother's eyes widened as he observed my white eyes and I stayed strong, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Wh- what are you?" he stuttered.

"I'm an Oracle," I proudly announced, blinking the burning away as my eyes reverted to normal.

"This is insane," he muttered. "Where did you get those contacts?"

"They aren't contacts!" I argued loudly. "They're my eyes. It's what I do! It's who I am!"

"I can't even listen to this right now, this is just ridiculous," my brother shook his head.

"Can you please just trust me? For once!"

Alex looked down at the floor. "I don't know what the hell is going on and I probably never will, but…I trust you enough to know you'll stay safe. Which you will, right?" He looked up at me expectantly.

"If I can," I admitted, not going to give him false hopes that I'd always be constantly safe. "You and I both know that trouble finds me more often than I find it."

He laughed reluctantly and opened his arms. I ran into them and we swayed back and forth as we hugged. I still felt the skepticism he held towards me, but I didn't blame him. Even with all this confusion, he still supported me and what I was. Somehow, I didn't feel like I deserved it.

* * *

When I got of my car in the school's parking lot, I saw Stiles a little ways off, walking towards me. His eyes met mine and smiles immediately grew on our faces as I sprinted towards him. Stiles wrapped his arms around me and spun me around in dizzying circles in the air, both of us laughing in glee.

He set me down in front of him, his arms around my waist and mine around his neck as we grinned up at each other, breathless.

"Hey, Batgirl," he greeted.

"Hi, Batman," I giggled softly.

"How are you?" his head dipped closer to mine as he talked, eyes shining.

"Better," I whispered, getting on tippy-toes and catching his lips with mine. He smirked into the kiss and pulled me closer to him. Stiles licked my bottom lip and I shivered in pleasure. He chuckled as he pecked my lips one final time before pulling away, forehead leaning against mine.

"You're a terrible person," I falsely insulted, glaring up at him.

"I've been told," he winked at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me into the school hallways. Once inside, I saw Scott looking around the halls with a wistful smile on his face as he observed our friends.

Allison and Isaac were walking down the halls, smiling as they talked.

Lydia and Aiden were flirting with each other by her locker.

Danny and Ethan were holding hands happily as they walked closely together.

Stiles and I walked up to him and patted his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder at us, smile widening. I walked between the two boys, each of our arms linked to one another's as a sense of normalcy washed over me. It felt good.

Weirdly enough, despite this rare moment of contentment, I felt a darkness shrouding my mind. It was seeping into the crevices and was starting to even speak to me, though the voice was unfamiliar. It kept saying to 'let me in'. I didn't know what that meant, but I was getting freaked out.

I quickly shook my head and the voice disappeared abruptly, making me more confused than before. The three of us had stopped walking and were at Scott's locker when they noticed my fallen expression.

"You feeling alright, Ari?" Scott questioned.

I looked at my two boys and I felt the smile return to my face as I shoved the feeling of darkness as far away from me as possible.

"Yeah. I'm feeling just fine."

* * *

**AN: ****_CRYING BECAUSE IT'S OVER AND I JUST DONT WANNA BELIEVE IT BECAUSE SADNESS. But it's okay. I'll be back again (: Might have to take a few days off before posting anything else because I don't wanna ruin 3b too much, yknow? Plus I have volleyball and dance stuff happening and it's taxing on me lol. But it won't be long._**

**_Thank you all for supporting this story. It's so inspirational and now that it's over, I wish I didn't have to stop. But not everything is complete. Zarina and the gang will most definitely be coming back, but in separate story for 3b because that's what you all suggested, so I'm just gonna stick to that. _**

**_OH AND IF YOU HAVE ANY TITLE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE SEQUEL, POST THEM OR PM ME OR WHATEVER YOU PREFER. I'm stumped._**

**_Feel free to send me any reactions, suggestions, things you wanna see in the future, etc. I'm open to any and all interaction with you guys (lol stiles reference kinda idk don't mind me). I love you all so incredibly much. I'll see you soon. :)_**

**_xx._**


	25. SEQUEL!

**ATTENTION :**

**_The sequel is now up! Yay! It's called 'In The Absence of Light' and it follows Zarina and the gang during season 3B. Now the updating for this story may be a little more inconsistent mainly because it's much more difficult to fit her in, especially cause Stiles is literally just kissing whoever the hell he wants, but whatever. LOL just kidding. But yeah, this story's going to be difficult to write, so please bear with me if I take a while to update._**

**_Love ya'll! xx._**


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